A Test Of Fate
by Kazoot
Summary: The world has fallen into despair. Trust is scarce among the Pokémon. A lone Snivy sets out to search for the source of the despair, to rid it from the world. However, he meets a certain Pokémon that shows him he's going to have to learn to trust others to make it through this life... (Takes place in the world of "Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Gates To Infinity")
1. Overture

_They told me that everything happens for a reason. They told me that everything all ends on fate... But what is "fate"? Why does it decide what happens? Why can't I change how things end up? Why can't I choose my path? Why?..._

The low howls of the wind blew around me as I walked down the dirt path. The gray, cloudy sky and the sagging trees emphasized the gloom of the world. I pulled my cloak over my head, and kept my short-sword by my side. For as long as I can remember, the world has always been gloomy. The whole world had this atmospheric feeling of despair. It was so strong that you could feel it if you just stepped outside and looked around. But, then again, it wasn't always like this...

It's because of all the other Pokémon. For reasons I don't know, they all became very selfish, and only worried about their needs. There were lots of problems between Pokémon. All the honest, naive Pokémon were being messed with by those who stole, or attacked without reason. Of course, I didn't do anything to them, but I can see that if others heard things like this, then they would fall in despair.

Unfortunately, I've fallen into this despair as well... how can there exist a world where the honest are lied to, and "trust" is scarce among everything else? Who could let this happen? It's unthinkable... I mean, I didn't have any problems when I was young. My family was normal, or about as "normal" as any other family with two Serperior's and me, a Snivy. I didn't have any problems there. We, unfortunately, lived secluded from everything else, so I had no idea what was going on outside of the forest I lived in. However, when I turned ten years old, I decided I would set out to see the real world. I didn't want to be caged up. I wanted to explore and see new places... as cliche as that sounds. Of course, my family didn't want me to go, but I explained my reasoning, and after a few days of thinking, my folks let me go. But, they always told me to trust no one, to keep to myself, and that no matter what:

"_Don't mess with fate..." _

At the time, I thought they were weird... What does that mean? And why should I keep to myself? Wasn't everyone suppose to be, generally, kind? Boy, was I wrong...

I'm sixteen now, and man, a lot has changed. Things were definitely better back then. The air around the world was cold, and it always gave me chills. I spent a lot of time meditating through the years, because it was usually the only way to take my mind off of what was happening in the world. However, it became harder to focus as I heard stories of what happened to other Pokémon. It made me depressed. I even fell into the trap of a little Zorua...

He came up begging me to help his brother. I went over and saw that he was hurt pretty badly. However, while examining his wounds, the other Zorua, had pick-pocketed me. By the time I noticed, I turned around towards him, ready for a fight, but he jumped away, and ran off, laughing maniacally. When I turned around, his brother ran off, too. I had lost a few berries, and little money, so it didn't bother me at first. However, this was generally what happened to me _all the time._

And, eventually, I became a very grouchy and irritated Pokémon. I didn't like being around others, and I generally steered away from them if I was to come across them. Did I like being this way? No. But, it's not like anyone can change over night...

Anyway, enough about the past, let me jump to the present...

I had just left from the last town, which was very quiet. Everyone hid in their houses, and never came out, unless it was an emergency. I stopped to rest a bit, and then left. The only words that I had said there were just the small chats between me and the owner of the inn. The owner was a Spinda, and just like what my parents had told me, during one chat, this Spinda ended up telling me the same thing: _"Don't mess with fate."_ Come to think of it... I heard a lot of Pokémon tell me this over the years... But, I still don't know what they mean by that. So, just like the rest of them, I ignored her, and went on my way.

Like I said, I originally wanted to see what the rest of the world was like. And I still do. But, after seeing what's become of the world... I find myself more or less, just drifting around like a ghost, with no destination. I have a new goal now. I know I might not ever reach it, but I want to know... Why? Why did this happen? How could _fate_ let the world crumble like this? It doesn't make sense...

I checked to make sure I had everything with me. My cloak was wrapped nicely around me and over my head. Check. I had my small satchel. Check. I had a few Oran berries and blast seeds in there. Check. My petrify orb was in there, too. Check. And my short-sword... Check. I had gotten this sword from my father. Before I left, he told me the world was a dangerous place, and I should take this sword (Plus, since he evolved, he lost his arms. So, it wasn't of use to him, anyway). I didn't know how to use it, and I still kind of don't, but I'm learning. The blade was very smooth on one edge, and the other edge was extremely sharp and about as thin as a piece of paper. The whole sword was a bland silver color, with a black hilt. The only interesting thing about it, was the weird insignia, engraved around the base of the blade. It looked like an arrow facing left, with a zig-zag going through it. I didn't know what it was for, so I just ignored it. It didn't seem important.

"Welp," I said to myself, "I have everything. Better get going..."

* * *

**So, what did you think? Too much for an intro? That's my concern, too much detail... But, whatever. I'll wait to see what you guys have to say...**


	2. To The Rescue

As I walked along this dirt path, there appeared to be a tree up ahead, which split the path in two. It hung over the edge of a cliff. But, I also noticed a group of Pokémon huddled around it. I headed to the left path and decided to keep to myself. As I walked by them, I overheard their worries.

"How can we reach her?"

"There's no way..."

"We can't get to her! IT'S HOPELESS!"

"All she wanted to do was explore the tree..."

Hm... There's a Pokémon stuck in the tree? Normally I would stick to myself, however, the only thing I've ever regretted in my life was not saving the innocent. Despite the fact that I've been tricked before, this was different. They clearly knew I was present, but they didn't run out towards me. I had this feeling of regret build up as I walked by them. So, I stopped, and decided to help out. Without saying anything, I walked through the group of Pokémon toward the tree.

"Uh... excuse me?"

"Who are you?"

"WILL YOU PLEASE HELP US!?"

I haven't even said a word, and they already started throwing questions at me (That last one was especially annoying). Pokémon like that irritate me. The group contained an Oshawott, a Mienfoo, and a Chimchar. The only one who slightly appealed to me was the Mienfoo, because they usually focus on their fighting in hand-to-hand combat. I envied them for that. Only a coward would use a weapon, like me. But, I mainly used my sword to honor my father for giving it to me.

"What's going on here?" I asked.

The Oshawott replied, "Oh please, help! Our friend Eevee is stuck up in the tree! The branch is starting to crack, and it's going to fall off the side of the cliff any minute!"

"OH PLEASE SAVE HER!" The Chimchar whined. He was tearing up. I wanted to slap him in the face and yell, "Shut up!", but I contained myself.

The Mienfoo just stared at the tree, completely silent.

"Please help us, Snivy! None of us are strong or quick enough to get to her."

Heh, even with this cloak covering most of my head, they could still tell I was a Snivy. I was impressed.

Without answering their questions, I pulled my cloak off my head, and turned toward the tree. I focused energy around my feet, and leaped up to the first branch (The years I spent meditating have given me many abilities normal Snivy wound not normally be able to use). The three Pokémon below were speechless that I could jump so high. I know they have questions, but I'd rather just get out of here. I leaped from branch to branch, maintaining balance with every jump. I realized that this tree was actually much bigger than it really seemed. It looked like anyone could get loss if they explored this tree. Maybe even end up at the edge of a branch, where they could fall to their death...

I could see the branch where Eevee was standing. She was shaking and had tears streaming down her face. At least she wasn't crying very loudly. The wind over here was blowing quite hard. The tip of the branch was dangling from the rest of the tree, and was probably about to snap at any second.

I called out to Eevee, "Hey!"

"Hm?... Huh? W-Who... Who are you?" Eevee stammered.

"Don't worry. I'm going to help you, just don't move."

She stood there silently.

I quickly panned the nearby branches. Conveniently, a branch right above us was sticking out farther than the one Eevee was standing on. I hopped up to it, and made my way to the edge of it, being careful not to put too much weight on it. My plan was to get out farther than Eevee, and then jump at an angle downwards to her branch, and then back to the ground. If I'm quick enough, it should work. If not... well... at least I died trying to save someone.

"Eevee!"

"Y-Yea?"

"I'm going to jump to your branch! Just stand still and don't panic. I should be able to grab you, and get you back to the ground!"

She didn't reply again. She was either too scared to talk, or didn't feel confident that I was going to get her out of there. I do have to agree, though. If it were _myself_ that was about to save _me_, I wouldn't feel too confident about it either.

I closed my eyes for a few seconds to clear my mind of any worries and thoughts about screwing up. It might hinder me from saving her. I leaped forward toward her, using the same tactic of focusing on my feet, and jumping off the branch. Before I even touched the branch, though, it snapped.

"AH!" Eevee screamed.

I landed, and tried to grab Eevee, but my leafy hands were too small, and she was too big. Thinking quickly, I knelt down under her, kicked off the branch and pushed her up into the sky at an upward angle, launching her to the edge of the cliff. Then, I leaped from the branch, which was just below the same altitude as the cliff's edge. Luckily, I was able to land safely back on the ground, on my two feet. But, something was wrong. Where was Eevee?

"H-Help!" I turned toward the edge, and noticed she was hanging there with one paw.

"Oh crap!"

I dashed towards the edge, and just as she let go, I grabbed her paw. I grunted as I pulled her up. My damn arms were too scrawny to lift her, but Eevee managed to get her foot on a protruding stone and kick herself up. We both scampered away from the edge, and breathed heavily, trying to recover from the thought of almost dying right there...

"Sorry for... tossing you into... the air like that..."

"Oh, it's alright... I'm just glad to be... on the ground again."

We spent another few minutes sitting there, resting, and staring out at the edge.

Once I felt better, I pulled my cloak over my head, checked to make sure I still had my sword and satchel, and turned around toward the left path.

"By the way," She asked, "Who are you?"

Before I could answer, the other three Pokémon ran over to us... well, specifically, toward Eevee...

"Eevee, you're okay!"

"OH EEVEE! I WAS SO WORRIED!"

"Glad to see you're safe!" The Mienfoo finally spoke.

They had their arms all over her, but didn't even look in my direction. I should have expected that. All these Pokémon think about are their worries. It's time I started to get going anyway.

Before I started to leave, I looked back over the edge of the cliff.

Man... that would've been one hell of a drop...


	3. Trust Issues

"W-Wait!"

Eevee called out to me. I stopped and looked over at her. She was still surrounded by her friends. It must be nice to know a few other Pokémon that you can trust...

"Can you guys please get off me?"

She sounded irritated. They all happily got off her, though.

"Phew... Excuse my friends for interrupting me. We're very close and it would hurt us all if something happened to one of us. Anyway, I was starting to ask, who are you exactly?"

Strange... For once, a Pokémon was interested in who _I _was? I even mentioned this to her.

"It's not everyday you get asked who you are... especially when you look at how the world is now..."

"Yeah... I know it must be weird to hear this question, but that's why I'm asking. It's not everyday a Pokémon is willing to help, let alone risk their life, when the world is like this! I want to at least know who my hero is!"

"Hey, us too!"

The other Pokémon chimed in.

"What you did back there was astounding!" The Oshawott complimented.

"It's unbelievable what you did!" Chimchar stated.

The Mienfoo walked up to me, and knelt down. I believe he was trying to honor me. I don't know why, though.

"Oh, magnificent Snivy," he said it so majestically, "please, tell us your story, and how you gained the strange abilities we witnessed from you."

This was a bit silly. He thought I was some kind of God. I had to "level" with him for a second.

"Hey, listen Mienfoo, I appreciate the gesture, but I'm not that special. You don't need to praise me like a king."

"As you wish..."

He backed away. I decided not to have to point things out to him...

My thoughts went back to Eevee's question. Once again, I would normally ignore other Pokémon that asked this, but this was definitely different.

"I'm Snivy," I said it blandly, "I'm just a simple traveler... I don't see what the big deal is. I simply helped someone in danger, because, unlike the rest of the scum in this world, I haven't become heartless... yet..."

She paused for a moment. They were all shocked at the way I had said things. It was the truth, though. However, Eevee quickly turned cheery again.

"Well Snivy," Eevee responded, "You saved my life! How can you stand there and act like it's nothing?"

I felt a hint of anger when she said this. I thought about walking away, but I didn't. I remained silent.

"Well, before you leave, you should at least visit our Paradise!"

Wait... what?

"A... Paradise?" I asked.

"Yeah! Well, kind of like what you said, we wanted to build a Paradise! A place where Pokémon live in harmony, and we all trust and help one another! A place, where there is no fear over simply asking for something as small as a drink of water. We then hope to improve the trust among other Pokémon!"

Hm... it sounded really weird... I still wasn't going anywhere with them, though. I've had some pretty elaborate tricks be used against me, and there was a possibility this was one of those...

"We'll give you some food, and a place to rest for the night! How about that?" Eevee offered.

Okay, I heard enough. This definitely seemed a bit _too_ good to be true. I may have saved her, but I've done many heroic acts, just as heroic as this one, for other Pokémon, and still got screwed over in the end. I wasn't about to fall for it.

I stared daggers at them, put my right hand on my sword's handle, and got in a "battle-ready" stance. Their faces all went pale really quickly. I didn't know I had that much of a threatening look. I responded to her question,

"Yeah, I don't think so... I've had this kind of thing happen to me, a bit too many times. I'm not about to fall for your scheme."

Eevee quickly panicked.

"Oh! No, no! We swear! We're not trying to trick you! We really want to repay you for helping!"

I still stared her down. That's exactly the kind of response I expected. I still wasn't ready to trust them.

Eevee sighed, and turned around to face the others.

"Guys, just head back to Paradise for now. I'll take care of Snivy here."

They all looked really worried. I almost felt bad for them, but I still wasn't about to give in. They all headed back, except Eevee. She slowly turned to face me. If she were smart, she would've ran off by now. She smirked, closed her eyes and shook her head.

"Wow, I never thought the bitterness of everyone else would make, even the good Pokémon, have trusting issues. Regardless, I'm still willing to show you our Paradise."

"You have no idea what I've been through. This "Paradise", or whatever, sounds just as suspicious as the other stories I've been told." I replied.

She shrugged.

"Guess it can't be helped."

I kept staring at her. Either, she was stupid, or thought I was a big fool.

She began to slowly walk towards me. I pulled out my sword from it's sheath. It's blade glistened, even without any sun in the sky. She paused for a moment when she saw it. But, yet, she still kept walking toward me. One paw in front of the other, very slowly. Her tail waved in the air, and she still had that dumb smirk on her face...

Finally, she was just a few feet away from me, and stopped. I warned her,

"Don't think I won't hesitate to attack if you get any closer. You saw my speed and strength with those jumps in the tree. You know you're not quick enough."

She started to laugh at my words. Man, this was one really annoying Eevee.

She put herself into a "battle" stance now, too. We stared each other down for what seemed like hours, but was probably only a few minutes.

She made the first move. She dashed, and in less than a second, she was on my left, but I still acted faster.

I grabbed her with my left hand, and shouted, "Too slow!"

I swung my sword right at her. As soon as my blade made contact, she vanished in a puff of air.

She vanished? I hesitated.

"How-?"

"Gotcha!"

She jumped on my back, hopped over my head, and ripped my sword out of my hands with her mouth. She then ran off with it, down the right path from the tree.

"Shoot!"

I couldn't afford to lose that sword. I didn't care too much when it was money, berries, seeds, or anything else. But when someone stole my sword, I made sure they would regret it.

I started sprinting after her. Well... rather, I would focus small bursts of energy around my feet, and make a series of quick leaps to her. I just realized... she was actually pretty fast. Faster than any of the other Pokémon that ran off with my sword, at least. Heck, I had to actually _try_ to catch up to her. But, I wasn't going to let her run off with my sword.

I actually began to panic a little. If I lost that sword, I'd become really depressed. Honestly, I'd probably end my life at that point. But beside that thought...

I followed her for what seemed like hours. And this time, I really mean, it felt like hours had gone by. I became oblivious to my surroundings. I just really wanted to get my sword back. And then punish her for running off with it. I would get so close to grabbing her, but then she would somehow get away from me. It was almost as if she was purposefully teasing me by doing this. I could have sworn, at one point, she turned around and winked at me...

Suddenly, she just stopped in place. The surprise stop caused me to actually jump right over her. I quickly landed, and threw myself at her. I grabbed her by the neck, slammed her into the ground, and held a fist up in the air, ready to hit her. I tried to sound threatening, but I was so exhausted by this point, I couldn't talk in a perfect sentence.

"Don't... you... hah... _ever_... take my... hah... sword... hah..."

She interrupted me. She was also tired, but could speak a bit better than me.

"Oh relax. Your sword... is right here."

She handed it... to me...

…

Okay, now I was confused. She could see the confusion in my facial expression. She laughed.

"You still haven't figured it out? Let go of me for a second, and I'll show you."

I was hesitant, but I did let her go. I still held my sword out, back-handed, in case she tried something. She stood up and looked around.

"So..." she asked, "What do you think?"

I finally stopped focusing on her, and looked at our surroundings.

_Holy crap!_

That was my first thought.

This place was pretty beautiful. We were standing in the middle of an open area. The grass shone a specific shade of green under the cloudy sky. I wondered how it looked under the sun. There was a very nice looking house in the center. Nicely cut, circular glass windows, and a neat stockpile of hay and straw on the roof. On my right and left were two other areas. They had waterfalls streaming down the sides, with a few other buildings, houses, and facilities built on the land around the falls. Even though I couldn't see the rest of the areas from where I was standing, it was pretty amazing. I also noticed a few other Pokémon walking around these areas. In fact, the ones that were with Eevee from before, were standing around us.

I stood there in awe. Eevee walked in front of me and asked, "So, do you like it?"

I asked her, "What is this place?"

"This..." she answered, "is Paradise."


	4. Regret

Paradise, huh? It was hard for me to understand it at first. Think about it, after what I've told you about what this world is like, you'd think it would sound like some kind of trap, right? Yet, here I was. Standing in the center of a magnificently built area. Hard to believe something like this exist...

"So... Paradise..." I said.

"Yep. Told you we weren't tricking you!" Eevee replied. She said it very cheerfully. Why is she always so happy about everything? Maybe it's something I won't understand...

"So... why exactly did you take my sword?"

"Well, it didn't look like you were believing us, and, that sword looked pretty important, so I thought, if I took it, then maybe you would follow me."

Hm... I can understand her thinking, but, what if it was someone else?

"... But... if it had been some other Pokémon, wouldn't you have just ignored them?"

It was weird. Why show me? I'm sure they've probably seen other Pokémon outside of Paradise. So, why did Eevee want to show me?

"It's because of your abilities." she said, "You were right, I was paying attention to your actions back in the tree. I figured we could use a Pokémon like you."

Use me?

"Woah, back up. You're not using me for anything!"

"Oh, of course! We want your consent on the whole situation, first! We don't want to force you to do anything you don't agree with!"

Once again, I looked at everything here being _too_ nice. I seriously can't remember ever meeting any Pokémon like this...

"Relax. We'll discuss the details later. For now, I'm sure you'd like a tour of Paradise, right?" Eevee asked happily. She had a warm smile on her face. Somehow, it was very comforting...

"Uh... sure?..."

Despite the friendly appearance, my thoughts were still scrambled. I was still trying to figure out what she wanted to _use_ me for...

"Right this way!" She said, full of cheer.

I took a few steps after her, but then my stomach growled really loudly. She heard it, too. I was embarrassed, but I didn't show it.

"Hehe... would you like to eat first? You're probably starving after all that running."

I nodded my head, the hood of my cloak rubbed against the back of my head. She lead me into the nice building that was in this area.

The inside looked pretty generic. It was only one giant room. There were five beds made of straw lying in the back. Then there were three tables, one on the left, one on the right, and a big table in the center. They didn't have any legs, they just laid on the floor. I guessed they just sat on the ground around the tables. There was quite a variety of pictures on the walls. Dungeon maps, paintings, and some other posters with details I wasn't too interested in looking at. The front of the room had two counters, one on each side of the entrance, with some cabinets, and display cases, too. I also guessed they kept their food and belongings in those.

"Just sit down at one of the tables. I'll bring you some berries." Eevee said.

She walked over to one of the cabinets and began taking out two bowls. Why was she now serving me? Doesn't she remember that I had almost _killed_ her? I also wonder what the other Pokémon were thinking when they saw me about to beat her. They didn't seem really worried; did they think she was that strong? She had speed, I'll give her that, but strength? I also realized, the other Pokémon from before didn't join us. I thought that, at least, that Mienfoo would want another chance to chat with me...

I sat over at the table on the right side of the house, near a window. I could see the waterfalls in the other area nearby. Truth be told, I've never seen a waterfall on my journey. Honestly, I was just scared of running water, in general. I feared the current was always really strong, and if I fell in, I would drown. But, I'm actually glad I finally saw one. It was, strangely, relaxing, watching it from a distance...

Finally, Eevee brought over two bowls full of berries. There were even some berries that I had never seen before.

"Dig in!" She cheered. (Yeah, I know I keep saying "cheer" a lot, but just put up with it. I can't think of any other way to describe it. You should just know Eevee is an upbeat Pokémon.)

She began to happily munch on the berries. But, I just sat there. This was still overwhelming. I mean, yeah, I _saved_ Eevee from dying. But, I had almost _beaten_ her, too. And here she was, serving me food, and acting as if everything is A-OK. I've never met any Pokémon do this for me. In fact, I just remembered, when she was in the tree, she was bawling her eyes out. And a few moments later, after I got her out of there, when she asked who I was, she was all perked up, and happy. A bit _too_ happy...

I continued to just stare at the food she gave me. She noticed I wasn't eating, so she asked,

"Um... Is everything alright? You still look a bit confused over something."

I explained my thoughts to her.

"Well... I might have saved you, but I was almost about to beat you up, and possibly, even _kill_ you, too. And you're acting as if everything is completely fine. How can you be so optimistic?"

"Hm... so that's what you think?" Eevee answered.

Is that what I think? The hell kind of response was that!? I ask a question, and she can't even answer me directly!? Okay, okay... Better cool it. It wouldn't do me any good to get angry right now. Eevee asked me a question.

"So, Snivy, what's with the sword?"

My sword? I took it out of it's sheath, and held it up horizontally so she could see the whole blade.

"My father gave me this sword before I went traveling on my own. He told me the world is dangerous, and I should use this to protect myself. I'm no master at fighting with it, but I'm learning."

Eevee analyzed my sword carefully, from top to bottom. She paused when she looked at the base.

"What's with the weird symbol at the bottom?"

I turned my sword over, and looked at it myself.

"I, honestly, don't know." I answered. "When I asked my father about it, his exact words were, _'only time will tell if you are worthy enough to learn the secrets of the sword.'_ My father was... weird..."

Eevee paused for a moment.

"Why do you use a sword? Don't _you_ think it's odd since Pokémon usually fight with their moves? The closest things we get to use as weapons are gravel rocks, sticks, orbs, and seeds, and those are temporary. Don't you have your own moves?"

I don't know why but the tone of her voice... it made me angry when she asked this. However, I cooled myself again. I answered,

"Of course I have my own moves! What would a Pokémon be without them? I mostly use my sword to honor my father for giving it to me. But, if he saw the way I fought with it... I don't think he'd be too proud..."

Like I said, I'm not that great at using the sword. But, I'm even _worse_ at using my moves. I'd probably be dead now if it weren't for the sword. I felt guilty trusting my life to a weapon, hence why I envied that Mienfoo...

"Hm... So you rely heavily on your sword, even though you can't fight well with it..."

Eevee paused for a moment. Then she smirked.

"... I bet you're also really bad at fighting with your moves, too!" She laughed at her joke.

However, I didn't see this as a joke. In fact, this made me extremely angry... I don't know why, but I felt this deep hatred for her, inside me, when she said that.

Eevee was right, though. I was bad at using a sword, and terrible at fighting with my moves. And if she could see that, then clearly, every other Pokémon would figure that out. Then, they'd look at me like a wimp...

A weakling...

…

A nobody...

The thought of being a nobody...

I got so angry and frustrated, it made me do something I regretted quite a lot...

...

I hit Eevee... But, it wasn't just a simple smack in the face. I went into a frenzy...

I ran up the table and kicked her in the face. As she was knocked back, I went over and shoved my hand into her chest. Much like with my feet from earlier, I focused energy around the palm of my hand, and blasted her across the opposite side of the room, and she slammed against the wall. At this point my blind rage had taken over, and I wasn't sure what I was doing anymore. As she sat there, I pulled out my sword. I got into a stance, holding it up with my right hand next to my face, and my left arm extended out below me. I started charging at Eevee, with full intentions of stabbing her. However, as I sprinted towards her, she looked up at me...

I looked into her eyes... and I could see, she was extremely sad. I began to feel regret, and I tried to stop running, but my momentum kept me going. My sword's blade landed just to the right of her face, stabbing the wall. She looked up at me into my eyes. And I stared into her hazel eyes. Again, I felt a big wave of regret come over me. She actually had a few small cuts on her from the impact into the wall. Her eyes began to well with tears, her lip was quivering, and her whole body was shaking. I finally pulled my sword away from the wall and stared at her...

…

What have I done?

I...

I...

I was no better than those other bastards that lied and stole from me.

_I was a monster._

The more I stared into her eyes, the more I wanted to say "sorry", but I couldn't...

I just... couldn't...

I had physically harmed her... There was no way to say "sorry" at this point.

I quickly turned away from her, pulled my cloak over my head, and left...

_I didn't look back..._


	5. Guilty Punishment

Guilty. That's how I felt. Eevee made an innocent little joke. Just some words, that's all. But, it made me angry. And I not only kicked her, but threw her across the room. All because she made a joke, and I took it too seriously...

_What's wrong with me?_

I have some serious anger issues... What the hell was I thinking!?

…

I walked quickly out of Paradise, going the opposite way Eevee had lead me in.

_Paradise..._

Boy... it really was a "paradise", alright.

The path was swallowed in a forest of trees. I hoped it would keep me hidden. However, as I was leaving, the other Pokémon had noticed that I was hastily walking out of there. I could tell they were wondering where Eevee was. The thought of what they were going to think when they saw her... The thought of looking at a friend, and seeing that they had been physically hurt...

I panicked and began to run. This wasn't how I thought things were going to end up. I didn't think I'd lose my temper at some other Pokémon that could have been my friend...

When I thought of that, I stopped running...

_A... Friend..._

I didn't trust a lot of Pokémon, but there was something about Eevee... Something that made me want to trust her... That's probably what made me feel bad when I attacked her...

Ugh, but that's not important right now! I just need to get away from here!

It began to rain, only adding more to my depressive guilt. My feet made a "plip-plap" sound as each foot landed in the wet grass. The more I ran, the more regret I felt. I should have said something... But I didn't... I was a heartless jerk...  
I stopped running again. I had to take a moment to just stop and gather my thoughts. Running away, without any clue as to where to go, was a bad idea. I needed to stop and think.

But, my thoughts were cut short. The Pokémon that were with Eevee from before, Mienfoo, Oshawott, and Chimchar, found me. I could see by the looks on their faces, they definitely weren't happy. In fact, they didn't even say anything. They just gave me this very angry look.

I wanted to fight them... but, I remembered that Eevee said they were close friends... and if I hurt them, I'd probably hurt Eevee even more, and I didn't want to do that. I just stood there with my head down, and my cloak covering my eyes.

Finally, Oshawott spoke,

"Why... Why did you hurt her...?"

The Chimchar yelled at me, too,

"What's wrong with you!?"

The Mienfoo just stood there, with a threatening look on his face.

I knew that I had attacked Eevee over a stupid joke she made. I knew I felt awful for doing so. I wanted to tell them that. But I didn't... They probably wouldn't believe me, anyway...

I didn't respond. I still stood there, looking like a guilty fool.

They all got into attack positions. Honestly, I didn't think they'd do much damage to me, since they were too scared to even save Eevee from back in the tree... Of course, I was wrong, though.

Mienfoo charged at me. I felt the urge to put my arms up and block, but I didn't. He hit me in the face with the move, "Mach Punch." The force from his strike caused me to fly backwards and slam into a tree, knocking the wind out of me. This is probably the pain that Eevee had felt...  
My cloak still stayed on me, though. I weakly, and slowly stood back up. I guess they had the strength, but not the speed, to save Eevee. That's why they didn't help her back at the tree.

The three of them surrounded me, as I had my back against the tree. I looked at all three of them, with the same look of hate and despise in their eyes.

_I deserved this..._

I said a few words to them.

"If you're going to beat me up, then go ahead. I'm worthless anyway..."

The three of them got confused. They probably didn't think I'd do this. They probably thought I was going to fight back. But I didn't... However, that didn't stop them.

Oshawott hit me with his "Water Gun" move, which came from his mouth. I was tossed to the side as the water drowned me out. Normally, since I'm a grass type, and he's a water type, it wouldn't hurt so much. However, during the rain, water moves were slightly stronger, and this attack hurt quite a bit. I sat up, but as I was preparing for a physical hit, I got blasted in the face with a wave of heat. The Chimchar used "Flamethrower". My whole body burned. I could feel my leaf tail being singed by the flames. I scrambled around in agony. Despite the fire, though, the rain put it out quickly. I looked at my hands and feet. There were burn marks all over them. I was really angry now. I wanted to pull out my sword and start slashing away. But I didn't retaliate. I stood up, probably looking like a mess at this point...

My thoughts were interrupted again as Mienfoo came over and punched me in the cheek, no special moves, just a simple punch. A wave of pain spread across my face.

I coughed up blood into my hands. I stared down at the blood...

_I deserve this..._

Something strange happened here, though. Very faintly, in my head, I heard a voice... I could barely hear it, but it was there. I think it said:

_"The wheel... of fate... is... turning..."_

I was trying to figure out what it was, but then all three of them came up to me, and starting pounding their fists and feet into my head, arms, stomach, everywhere. I was in a world of pain... And I lied there... hopeless and regretful...

Each shock of pain that went through me was only reminding me of what I had done. The pain I had caused Eevee, who was innocent...

I became light-headed, and my vision got blurry. In addition to the burns, there were now bruises and scratches on my body.

_I'm going to die... like a loser..._

I held up my hand.

"Stop..." I said it very softly. They kept hitting me.

"STOP!" I shouted. It caused me to cough up more blood.

They all stopped when they heard me raise my voice. If I'm going to die, I want to die honorably... at least from my perspective.

I pulled out my sword. They all flinched back at seeing it. I turned toward Mienfoo. I held the sword to him.

"Here..." I said quietly. "End me..."

He hesitantly took my sword. While he was examining it, I weakly sat up.

"End... me..."

I said it again.

I could see he looked confused. He looked at Chimchar and Oshawott. They both gave him a confused look as well. The Mienfoo looked back at me. I could tell he was feeling guilty about this. He had a strange look in his eyes. It was as if he was saying, "I'm sorry, but I have to do this." I kept my head down, and looked away from him.

Mienfoo gripped the sword with both hands, the right one on top the left. He slowly raised the sword above his head. Once it was above his head, he paused. He was probably thinking, "Why? Why me? Why does Snivy want _me _to kill him? And why with his sword?" I'd explain it to him, but I was too weak to speak. His arms began to shake. Yeah, he definitely didn't want to do this. But he, and the other two, didn't want to see my presence, _ever again._

This is it...

My last seconds alive...

I truly was _nothing..._

…

He still didn't swing it...

I looked up at the sky. Heh... I forgot it was still raining. The rain drops showered over my face. It felt refreshing...

What was taking Mienfoo so long?

I wanted to shout at him, _Come on! Kill me!_

Finally, he closed his eyes. I saw him arch his arms back a little more, just about to swing down and kill me.

"NO!"

We all looked over to the right. Eevee jumped out from behind some bushes. We were all shocked to see her. I noticed that all the cuts she had when I launched her into the wall, were gone. Almost as if I had never done anything to her...

"Don't kill him! He doesn't deserve this!" Eevee was saying something in my defense? Even after I caused her pain?

She stood in front of Mienfoo, and ripped my sword out of his hands with her mouth. She tossed the sword in front of me.

"I'm ashamed in you three!" She was talking about the three of them.

"I understand it's not good to ignore someone who attacked the leader of the team, but jeez! You three were ready to kill him, too!?"

Eevee was still saying something in my defense. Why did she still care for me? I was so confused. And being nearly beaten to death, it was hard for me to focus. And what was this about a "team"?

Eevee sat down in front of me. Her face showed worry, with a hint of anger. She pushed my cloak back off my head, but I still kept looking down at the ground. She could see all the aching pain I had gone through. All the bruising, scratching, burning pain I had gone through. Blood dripped down from my mouth, and I was shaking in agony. She shook her head.

"I think I'm mostly disappointed in _you..._"

…

It was these words that had truly hurt me the most...

No physical pain could ever be tantamount to the pain I felt to being told someone was disappointed in me. But, it wasn't just _anybody_, it was someone who I had a lingering feeling of trust in. Someone who I wanted to care for me... And they just said they were let down by _me..._  
Honestly, it was at this point, that I finally began to feel tears crawl up in my eyes. I've always been depressed, but this was truly the first time I cried in a long, long time. I shut my eyes tight.

_Why, though? Why was she disappointed in me?_

I grabbed her right paw. She didn't flinch. I held her paw up to the left side of my face.

"Here..." I said. "Hit... me... here..." I could barely breathe, let alone, talk.

She stared at me. I finally looked up, and stared into her hazel eyes. She really wasn't happy with me... I looked back at the ground, ashamed. Her paw was still on my face. I could feel a kind of "warmth" coming from her furry paw. But, I knew she wasn't looking to make me feel better.

Eevee shut her eyes tight. We both waited like this for a bit, with the rain, now drizzling, as if the storm was almost over...

She pulled her paw away from my face. She formed it into a fist.

The next thing I knew, I felt my face sting...

And then I passed out...


	6. A Long Lost Friend

**I apologize for the long delay on this chapter. I got busy with school, and blah blah blah. I'm sure you've heard it all before.  
Also, this chapter is, currently, the longest. So, you might want to grab a drink or something while reading.  
Anyway, enjoy!**

* * *

...

Oh, right... I forgot that I died...

Wait... Did I die?

No, that's right... I didn't. Eevee punched me in the face. And then I passed out...

But... where am I? I opened my eyes, but it felt weird. I couldn't make out where I was. The room I was in had a strange atmosphere around it. Every way I looked, it seemed there was no wall at the end. This "room" stretched out infinitely. The ground was a purple haze, and the view in the distance was a gray aura. It was like looking at an optical illusion. I looked at my hands, and they were transparent. In fact, my whole body was colorless and transparent, except for a white outline around me. I also didn't have my sword, my cloak, or my satchel...

_"Where the hell am I?"_

I tried opening my mouth to talk aloud, but nothing came out... I couldn't speak. I could only project my thoughts out loud. This place was getting stranger the longer I stayed in it...

I wasn't exactly sure what to do. I decided to start walking in a direction. I couldn't tell if I was walking straight because it seemed like the whole area was moving with me when I walked around. But it was better to move around than sit still and do nothing, right?

Suddenly, I felt this big presence behind me. I turned around, only to be greeted with a giant black dragon. He stood on two legs, and had weirdly shaped wings (I really don't know how to describe them). His tail was shaped like a drill, and his red eyes felt like they were piercing through me.

We stared at each other for a bit. He was so huge. I felt like an insignificant ant compared to whatever he was. He gave off this very strong, blue aura that blazed around his body and it felt like my brain was being squeezed. Who was this? I tried saying something to him.

"_Uh... excuse me-_"

"WHO ARE YOU?"

_"Ugh!"_ He wasn't yelling, but when he talked, I felt a sharp pain enter my head. I fell to the ground and couldn't say anything to him because of the pain. He noticed, too.

"OH! MY APOLOGIES! EXCUSE ME FOR ONLY A MOMENT."

My head hurt even more when he said that. He held up his hands, and formed a small orb of energy. All the aura around him began to be sucked into the orb. The aura on his body wasn't blazing anymore. I could still see it streaming off him though. All the pain in my head was gone, too. I stood up again. Regardless of his aura, I still felt small around him.

"Is that better?" He asked. I didn't feel pain when he spoke this time.

_"Yeah, thank you."_ I said. Said? I'm not exactly speaking... I know I'm at least _thinking_ though. So... I'm saying my "thoughts"?

"Who are you? What is your name?" And yet, this dragon was speaking out loud. It was weird to hear him talk formally, and to ask who I was. I began to introduce myself.

_"I'm Snivy. I'm not-"_

"SNIVY!" He got really excited when I said that. Even though he yelled, it didn't hurt my head. "It's been too long Snivy! How are things? Have you had any new adventures recently?"

He eagerly awaited my answer. But... he knows me? I hesitated. I don't know who he is...

_"Uh... I'm sorry, but who are you?"_ I was afraid he would flip out over my question. Thankfully, he acted calmly about it.

"What!? How could you forget me? It hasn't been that long, has it? It's me, _Zekrom!_ Remember!?"

Zekrom!? The legendary Pokémon that controlled lighting, and was the believer of ideals!? I'M STANDING IN FRONT OF ZEKROM!? I rubbed the sides of my head. I'm standing before Zekrom... and he's acting like my friend... My mind was blown away...

"Is something wrong, Snivy?" I stood up. There were a zillion questions flying around in my head.

_"I.. uh..." _I wasn't sure what to ask. I took a deep breath. In... and out... Then I asked my first question. _"Um... How... how do you know me?"_

"Hm? How could you forget? You were the one that made me make the sword. You fought me in a battle, and since you won, I forged the sword that holds my power, so you and I could protect the future of the Pokémon. Haven't you seen the symbol on the sword glow? I was trying to get your attention with it."

Okay, now I had even more questions to ask. We were _inside_ the sword? How? He was trying to communicate with me through the weird symbol on the sword? I've never seen it glow. And, I don't recall ever fighting Zekrom, let alone, being within the same area as him. The only other person who had this sword was... my father!

_"Zekrom, I think you're confusing me with my father!"_

His mouth dropped. From the look on his face, he was extremely shocked. It was silly to see this great legendary have such a surprised look.

"Wait... father? Then... you're the son of _the_ Snivy? The one I battled with?"

_"It appears that's how things are... By the way, he's evolved into a Serperior now."_

He paused for a moment.

"This changes everything..." He whispered, but I could still hear him. It's funny when you think about it. I'm standing before a legendary Pokémon, and not only is he acting well-mannered, he knows who my father is. It seems too coincidental, but he's a legendary, why would he lie? And he fought my father? I asked Zekrom about it.

_"Hey, I don't mean to interrupt your thoughts, but can you tell me about this 'battle' you had with my father? He never told me anything about it."_

"Hm... oh yes, right, the battle. Listen closely, for it is an important story you must hear, that is, if you truly are the son of the Snivy I battled with, oh so long ago."

I sat down... Er... Tried to figure out how to sit on this floor...

"Your father," he began, "was a very interesting Pokémon. He was always looking out for others, rather than himself. Even if they were enemies, he would always help them. He would do anything to show that he trusted others, even when they would at first betray him.

"So, one day, something had caused the legendary Pokémon of time, Dialga, to become corrupt. He transformed into Primal Dialga, and wanted to destroy the Pokémon world, by allowing time itself, to freeze the entire planet. A group of Pokémon that were working for Dialga, were sent into the past, to destroy those who would alter the future. They were aware that they would be erased if they changed the past, but that didn't concern them. Two heroes were chosen to stop Dialga. A human, named Daniel, and a Pokémon, named Grovyle."

A human?

"However, while also being transported into the past, by the Pokémon Celebi, Grovyle and Daniel were separated. They did manage to meet up at another point, but it took a lot of time. During that time, Daniel had actually transformed into a Pokémon."

The human... transformed?

"We still don't know exactly _how_ he transformed, but it wasn't important. He had transformed into a Charmander, and he met an Eevee when he first woke up that way."

An Eevee? I started to think about the Eevee back at Paradise...  
The one who I had hurt...  
The one who knocked me out...  
Was she somehow connected to this?

"His partner, Eevee, was just like your father. Always upbeat and optimistic about everything. She was also a very good leader. She didn't have strength, but she had speed, and confidence."

The Eevee in this story sounds very similar to the Eevee I know... Almost, _too_ similar.

"News about this whole situation was being spread around by a lot of Pokémon. When your father heard about it, he set out to meet the trio. He wanted to help the human, Grovyle, and the Eevee in any way possible. At the same time as news of this incident was going around, there were also rumors that I, Zekrom, was spotted at the top of a place called Thunder Valley. And, well, I was there. I sensed Pokémon being distraught, so I took to the top of Thunder Valley, and watched as everything happened."

_"Wait... you were able to see _everything _from just sitting at the top of that place?" _I asked.

"... I'm a legendary..." He answered.

I smacked myself in the face. Of course that's why he could see everything. Man, I'm stupid. He continued with his story.

"Your father decided that he would go to the valley, alone, so that the other three could focus on how to take out Dialga. He managed to reach me, and requested for my assistance. I really wanted to help, but because of the "Code of Legendary Pokémon", he had to beat me in a battle if he wanted me to help."

_"A code? Like... a set of laws?" _I asked.

"Yes, even us, the legendary Pokémon, have to follow a set of limitations. They were given to us by Arceus."

_"But, wasn't Dialga breaking the code?"_

"Well, yes, but at the time, Dialga had managed to break away from the rest of us. Arceus couldn't reach him. And if Arceus appeared in his physical form to search for him, then it would disrupt the peace of the other Pokémon. We couldn't touch Dialga. So, when I told the other legendary Pokémon about someone coming to ask for my help, we all became very joyous."

Man, it's pretty scary to think that even Arceus, himself, couldn't do anything... He proceeded with the story.

"Your father was quite a formidable opponent. Honestly, I got a bit cocky and underestimated him since he was so small compared to me. Later in the fight though, I did start using my full strength on him, but despite that, he still defeated me. I told him I would help, but I couldn't go with him in my physical form, as it would cause a great amount of strain on every other Pokémon that got close to me. Remember when you first saw me, and how your head hurt? Well, I have to adjust my aura to each individual Pokémon so that it doesn't hurt them. That's why I couldn't physically go. So, I forged a weapon, a sword imbued not only with my power, but _every other legendary Pok__é__mon's power. _Er... except Arceus'. He said the sword would be too powerful if he was a part of it._"_

So... this entire time... I had a sword crafted by the Legend's? And I didn't even know!?

"And... well... from there, I never did see your father again. The other legendary Pokémon and I did feel the power of Dialga go away, so we assumed they were all successful. A few days later, and Arceus introduced Dialga back into us. It turned out that Dialga had changed back after being defeated, and he used his powers to help the four of them restore time. Palkia sure was happy that day... Anyway, going back on topic, I told your father that the sword could communicate with me, but I never did see him again. Maybe like you, he didn't know how to do so. I don't really know what happened to him from then on. You can imagine how confusing it is for me to all of a sudden meet the _son_ of that Snivy after all those years ago. I'm glad we could meet!"

He ended his story on a happy note.

I sat there and took this all in. So, my father had defeated Zekrom, got a sword from the Legend's, assumed to have defeated Dialga with it... and _he didn't even tell me!? _I felt a little betrayed by my father. Why would he hide it?

_"Why do you think he didn't tell me about this?"_ I asked Zekrom.

"Hm... I would assume it is because he didn't want to put you in a dangerous spot. I could imagine that whoever was helping Dialga probably still had feelings of wanting to stop whoever had put an end to Dialga. He was afraid he might endanger not only you, but, if you are his son, then your mother, as well."

Welp, I now understand my father's point of view. But still... it's a lot to take in...

"I understand this might be a lot for you, so if there's anything else you'd like to ask, you may gather your thoughts first."

I sat there in silence for a while. I wanted to sleep. But, I don't even know if I can if I'm _inside_ the sword. I spent the time to just sort of think about my recent actions, what my father had done, and whether he would be proud of me...

After meditating for a bit, I asked Zekrom a few more questions.

_"So, Zekrom... how exactly do I contact you through the sword?"_

"It is an easy task. All you need to do is hold the blade straight up in direct sunlight for a few seconds, and you will be warped directly inside here. Or, at least, your sub-conscience will be."

_"So, I'm not even physically here?"_

"That is correct."

Wait... but it was raining when I was last awake. How did I still get into the sword?

_"But, it was raining when I was with the sword. How could I have gotten in here?"_

"Uh-oh..." He replied. I began to worry a little. It's not a good thing when a legendary is worrying about something.

"I did make another method of getting into the sword. A "backup", if you will. If the holder is about to die... then they will appear here, regardless of the sun. I did this so that, if your father proved unsuccessful, then at least his mind would be preserved, and his story could be shared with whoever was next to pick up the blade. And, if you came here and it _wasn't_ sunny outside, then that means..."

My thoughts jumped to everything that happened before I came here...  
Attacking Eevee...  
Running from Paradise...  
Being nearly beaten to death by Chimchar, Oshawott, and Mienfoo...  
And then Eevee punching me one last time in the face...

They probably left me there, in the middle of the forest, to rot away and die...

_"How do I get out of the sword!?" _I quickly asked him. He flinched at the sudden sharp tone I used.

"If you entered here through the sun, then you just simply need to wake up. But, if it was the other way, meaning you passed out, either you need to wait until you're well enough to wake up again, or..."

Zekrom paused. I didn't want him to tell me I was dead. I began to walk in circles...

Okay, let's look at things negatively, first. There's a chance I'm dead. That is my worse case scenario. I'm dead, and trapped in the sword. And if I'm not dead, then I'm probably in the middle of the forest, looking like a mess. I let out a deep breath. Okay, now something positive. If I'm not dead, then I now know I have a really badass sword! And, maybe Eevee forgave me. But, I won't know... I'll just have to wait...

I sat down and began to meditate. I can't really do much else. Zekrom sat in front of me, a few feet away.

"Is something wrong?" He asked. "You seem to be distraught."

I sighed. If I'm dead, then there's no point in _not _telling him. I explained how the Pokémon world currently is, the "solution" I was looking for, and everything that happened to me in the past day. Saving Eevee, chasing her after she stole my sword, being shown Paradise, Eevee asking about my sword, getting irritated at her voice, attacking her, running from Paradise, and then being nearly beaten to death until Eevee showed up and knocked me out. If I was physically here, I'd have tears running down my face now. I felt horrible. I was afraid my only chance at having a trustworthy friend was gone, and now I had no reason, or support, to even continue looking for why _fate_ had messed up the Pokémon world.

"Hm..." Zekrom thought for a moment. "Snivy. You are indeed a selfless Pokémon. I had always sensed that feeling of "despair" and "selfishness" in the Pokémon world, but I had no idea it has become this big of an issue. It is nice to know that in the world you described, you are not like, mostly, everyone else. However, you still suffer from the same problems of only thinking of yourself, before others, at the moment of truth. When you get angry, you only focus on what's happening to you. But you make up for it, by helping those in trouble. You saved Eevee's life, remember? And even if you almost killed her afterwords, she still could forgive you if you truly apologize to her. I believe that you can still gain Eevee's trust."

I looked up at Zekrom.

_"Do you really think so?"_

"Of course!" He answered, "And even if she doesn't, then I want you to know one thing." He looked down at me and smiled, "You and I... just like with your father, we will always be friends!"

Again, if I was physically here, then I'd be crying right now. I didn't care that my friend was one of the legendary Pokémon. The fact that he said we were friends was enough to make me happy. I got up and bowed to him.

_"Thank you! You truly have no idea how much that means to me!"_ Zekrom nodded his head.

"I'm just glad to finally know what's become of that Snivy I met so long ago."

I sat down in front of Zekrom. I began to meditate. The only thing I can really do now is wait, and wait, and wait... Hoping I'll wake up soon.

I went over in my head what happened before I got here, when I was being beaten. I remembered a voice. What did it say? Something about a "wheel turning"? I asked Zekrom about it.

_"Hey Zekrom, another question, if you don't mind..."_

"Not at all, what is it?"

_"When I was being beaten... there was a point where I heard a voice in my head. I think it said, 'the wheel of fate is turning'. Do you know what that means? Did you say that to me?"_

"Hm? That's odd... I never said anything like that. I didn't even know who you were until now. And I didn't make the sword do that..." Zekrom paused for a moment. "I did put the power of all the other legendary Pokémon in the sword, except Arceus'. Since I made it, you should only be able to communicate with me. You can't speak with any others unless they give you some sort of item that allows you to do so." He paused for another moment. "The only thing I can think of is... Arceus is trying to say something to you..."

I was speechless. Arceus, the one above all of us, even the Legend's, was saying something to me? Why?

_"What do you think he means by 'the wheel of fate is turning'?"_ I asked Zekrom.

"The wheel of... _fate?_... Is turning..." He said it to himself. "Maybe... he's telling you that, whatever is happening to you at the time he says it, depending on how the event goes, depends on how _fate_ will effect your future path."

I thought over what Zekrom thought. Yeah... that makes sense... but why is Arceus telling me this? Why does he care how my _fate_ goes? I was just about to ask Zekrom, but then a ray of light engulfed me. It picked me up off my feet, and I started to levitate. Zekrom stood up.

"Well my friend, it appears that you are very much alive. Unfortunately, this is also where we say goodbye! Take care of yourself, and remember, we will _always_ be friends!"

I waved to him. I started to float upwards, with the light carrying me. As I drifted upwards, I began to realize...  
This is it. This is my turning point. This is my chance to change my fate!

_I'm not going to waste it!_

* * *

_The wheel of fate has begun to turn..._


	7. Turning A New Leaf

Ah... it felt good to sleep in. I could feel the warmth of the pillow on my face. I snuggled up in the blanket and turned on my left side in the mattress...

Wait a minute... Pillow? Blanket? Mattress?

I sat up and looked at my surroundings. I was... in that building that Eevee had brought me into when I first came into Paradise. Why was I here? I was laying in a bed. However, it wasn't like those piles of straw and hay that sat in the back of the room. This one had a very comfy mattress, a warm, blue blanket, and a fluffy white pillow. It didn't have any frame to it; the mattress was just laying on the floor. This bed was on the left side of the room, near one of the tables. Why was I sleeping in this? I looked at my leafy hands, and the rest of my body. There were bandages on my hands, a patch on my left shoulder, and a patch on my forehead. I remembered being lit on fire... The singeing flames on my hands, and the burn marks that were left after... I clenched my hands into fists... Why was I all patched up, though?

I looked out the window. It was still a gray sky. That reminds me, how long have I been out? I kept looking around, and I don't know how I missed it, but Eevee was laying on one of those straw beds right next to me... I really was not expecting this. Eevee was asleep. I guess I woke up early. My sword, cloak, and satchel were sitting on the table next to us.

I thought about my chat with Zekrom. Did I really just become friends with a Legendary? Was I really inside the sword when I talked to him? I remembered he said he communicated by making that weird symbol on the sword glow... And sure enough, it started glowing right now. The insignia pulsed a blue light. I slowly got out of the bed, carefully stepped around Eevee, and picked up the sword. I felt a jolt of energy zap up my arm, and my eyes widened at the shock.

_"Snivy? Snivy? Can you hear me?" _It was Zekrom's voice. How the heck was I suppose to say something back to him, though? Hm... maybe through my thoughts, like last time?

_"Uh... hello?"_ I replied back to him with my thought. I wanted to say more, but I felt some kind of force preventing me from adding more to my reply. I wanted to say, "Hello? Can you hear me, Zekrom?"

_"Ah, very good. It's me, Zekrom. I was sure you'd figure out how to reply back. Anyway, I forgot to mention this to you, even though I'm talking to you, and you're not in the sword, don't think that you can do the same. You're responses to me this way are limited. You have to go inside the sword if you need to contact me."_

A one-way call... great...

_"Also, remember that as a Legendary, I have other duties to carry out, so I won't always be there to answer your questions. But, don't think I'm not watching over you. I can detect your life-force through the sword, since you're currently the one responsible for it. I'll check up on you from time to time. Make sure you take care of yourself, and I hope things go well for you. Goodbye!"_

_ "See ya'!" _I answered back. I felt the force in my head leave. I guess this is useful for when he needs to tell me something important. What that will be, and when, I don't know...

I looked over at Eevee. She was still sleeping soundly, curled up on that patch of hay. I stared at her, and then shook my head. I couldn't understand her. I had nearly killed her, _twice_, and she still felt this trust in me. She slept by my side, with my sword nearby. I could have easily taken her out, right now. There's clearly something telling her to put so much faith in me. Otherwise, she was crazy...

But... now it's my turn. I need to change my fate. When she wakes up, I need to not only apologize, but I need to do more. She did say she needed to _use_ me for something before, right? What was that about? I'll have to ask her when she gets up.

I stepped around her again and sat back down in that bed I was in. I stared up at the ceiling. I thought more about what kept Eevee so happy, and why she was always upbeat. And for that matter, what is _true_ happiness? Having a lot of money? Having trustworthy friends? Being famous? Being powerful? I couldn't see myself being in any one of those positions. To me, _true_ happiness is when you can wake up one day, and not worry about anything. Just simply wake up and say, "Yep. I've got nothing to do. Perfect!" No responsibilities, no job, no mission, just wake up and do whatever with your... friends... right... But still, that's all I would need to be happy...

Unfortunately, I'm in the middle of having to repay Eevee since I nearly killed her. Seeing her smile at me, not in pity, or in her strange cheerfulness, but... if she smiled at me as a _friend_... then maybe I could find happiness through that, instead.

The room we were in was a blissful silence. The only thing I heard was the muffled sound of the waterfalls outside.

Finally, Eevee started to wake up. She rolled around a bit, and then sat up. She yawned, and looked around drowsily. She stopped when she saw me.

"Snivy?" She asked, half-asleep still. She rubbed her eyes, and looked at me again. Her eyes widened, and I noticed she began to tremble in fear. I was about to ask what was wrong, but then I remembered that I was still holding my sword.

"Relax. I'm not going to hurt you." I reassured Eevee. I put my sword down by my side and looked back at her. She was much more relaxed now.

"Phew... You gave me quite a scare there! It's too early in the morning for that..." Eevee smiled. It was the same warm, comforting smile from before. The happiness she showed, even after harming her... I closed my eyes. I didn't cry, but I was choking up.

"Eevee... I'm so sorry..." I looked away from her.

"Huh?" She sounded confused.

"I'm sorry I put you through this. Every time I think about what I did, I feel stupid. I know you probably hate me for what I've done. And I know that no matter how much I say sorry, it won't change anything. But, I'm not asking you to forgive me... I just..." I sighed. I couldn't think of any other way to say it without repeating myself, so I said it again, "I really want you to know that I _truly_ am sorry!"

It was silent. I looked at her, and this time she gave that kind of smile that said, "Don't worry about it!" And that's exactly the kind of response she gave.

"Psh! Don't worry so much about it Snivy! Now, get your stuff together. There's something important I need to get done. I'll be waiting outside." She turned around and started to leave.

What? That's it!? No... I'm not letting this happen again like last time where she just shrugged me off.

"Eevee!" I got up and grabbed Eevee by her shoulders with both of my hands. I forced her to look at me in the eye. Her eyes widened in shock. "You don't get it! A lot has happened to me in the past few hours, and I didn't bust my ass off saving your life, chasing you to get my sword, nearly kill you, take an almost fatal beating, pass out, and finally summon the courage to apologize, _just _so that you can say, 'Oh, it's fine! Don't worry!' I need you to know that I'm not joking around! _I-AM-SORRY!_"

I was really angry, but I wanted her to know how I felt. Her eyes showed embarrassment, and shock. But I noticed she was blushing. Why was she-?... I then noticed our faces were extremely close to each other. I felt my face start to get hot, and it felt like something was choking me up...

Now, if I was smart, I would've just shoved her away, right now. But because I'm _not_ so smart, we just stared at each other like this for a bit. I was still holding her by her shoulders. My heart was beating really fast. Why though? My arms were shaking, not in anger, but in nervousness. Eventually, Eevee broke the silence.

"Uh... Sn-... Snivy?" She was at a lost for words. Now I gently shoved her away, and turned the opposite way from her.

"Um... just... uh... go... wait outside. I'll be there in a bit..." I was at a lost for words, too. She was still standing there. I could sense it, but I didn't look at her. After more silence, she finally walked away. I looked at my hands. They were still covered in bandages. What the hell... why... did I feel that? In frustration, I tore my bandages off, including the other patches on me. I shoved my sword in its sheath, put on my cloak, grabbed my satchel and walked out to meet her. Today is going to be a _long_ day...

* * *

When I got outside, Eevee acted as if that last minute in there didn't happen. It turned out that I had been asleep for a whole day. The bed I slept in was their emergency bed, for medical emergencies, and whatever. She told me the other three, Chimchar, Mienfoo, and Oshawott, didn't feel comfortable with her watching over me; they saw me as an enemy. If I see them again, I can tell they're not going to be happy to see my ugly mug. I didn't care, though.

Eevee said she needed to do something important at one of the facilities in Paradise. As we walked there she gave me an "unofficial" tour of the place. Paradise consisted of many shops that sold many different orbs, seeds, berries, and many other items that were unknown to me. There were fields for growing things like Blast Seeds, Oran berries, and the like. There were also dojo's for training moves. We passed by a fire dojo, a water dojo, and a fighting dojo. We walked through one the areas with waterfalls, and then through another area, which was a very thick forest. It had a section of land cut in the center for more facilities. However, we didn't stop here. Eevee didn't exactly tell me where we were going. We just kept walking around for a bit. Before I asked her where we were heading, she talked to me.

"Hey, Snivy..." She had a look of worry in her eyes. "I'm... I'm sorry..." So, now she was apologizing to _me?_

"I know I don't take things too seriously... and because of that, it's caused me to be really careless with some of my decisions." She shrugged. "But, I guess my friends' carelessness has influenced that on me. I didn't mean to provoke you, and make you angry. If I had known just how much of a serious Pokémon you were, I wouldn't have acted so stupid."

"Now, hold on Eevee, that's not your fault!" I reassured. "You had no idea who I was when you started asking me those questions. In fact, you still don't know a whole lot about me!"

She looked up at me. She had a blank look on her face.

"Eevee... you didn't do anything wrong. You were being yourself. If anything, _I _truly was the one being stupid." I calmed her. She closed her eyes. Then she smirked at me.

"Here, you know what?" I stopped walking. Eevee stopped to look at me. "How about we start over?" I asked. I held out my hand to her.

"Hello, my name is Snivy. Would you like to be friends?" I asked her confidently. She laughed at my sudden formality.

"It would make me very happy to be your friend, Snivy!" Eevee replied, full of cheer. She extended her paw out to me.

We both shook on being friends.


	8. Another Mistake

**Welp, here's another chapter. Oh by the way, I don't want to spoil anything, but keep in mind that I've never written a FanFiction before, so when it comes to describing a "fighting" scene... I wasn't too sure how to write it out... I hope it works...**

* * *

"So, Eevee, where exactly are we going?" Now that we were at least friends, I felt more comfortable around Eevee. After we shook hands, er... rather, after I shook her paw with _my_ hand, she told me to follow her. Although, this time, she seemed like she knew where she was going.

"It's a surprise! You'll see when we get there!"

"Oh, jeez..." I mumbled to myself. It felt like we had walked over every square-inch of Paradise. And now we had to keep walking? Ugh...

Eventually, we came into an area in Paradise that definitely stood out. It had a mountain-like terrain, with steps from the bottom leading up to different facilities. But, strangely, there were no other facilities built here. There were only signs stating where they should be built.

"Alright, we're almost there! Come on!" Eevee beckoned me to follow her, and we picked up our speed.

"Wait, Eevee, there isn't even one facility here..."

"That's what _you_ think. But there is something here. Quick, to the top!" She pointed at the top of this mountain. Luckily, it wasn't that far up.

When we reached the top, I fell backwards in shock. I stared in awe at the view from up top this mountain. It was breath-taking. You could see out for miles. The trees down below swayed in harmony with the wind. Further out in the distance was an ocean. The water was a dense blue color. I stared out at the horizon, where the water and the gloomy sky met. I could feel the wind blow against my back. My cloak brushed against my shoulders and the back of my head. This would've been perfect if it was sunny out... After staring for a bit, Eevee tapped me on the shoulder.

"Snivy, I'm glad you enjoy the view, but did you even see this facility?"

"There's a facility up he- Oh, holy crap!" I noticed a giant building standing in the center up here. It was raised a few feet from the ground with stone, and shaped in a square. There were torches blazing with fire, lighting up all four corners, and stone tiles neatly lined up to form another large square in the center. The center was open-roof, with no walls, and there sat a small hut behind it. My eyes widened at how huge this building was. I could tell it was a dojo, but why was it bigger than the others? And how did I miss something so huge!?

"What type of dojo is this?" I asked Eevee.

"It's the normal-type dojo!"

"What!? The normal-type one? Why would you make the normal one so huge, but the other dojo's so small!?" It was perplexing. Normal type moves are practically worthless, unless they had some kind of special perk. So, why make the normal-type dojo the biggest?

"Two reasons: One, I'm the leader of our team, and I'm a normal-type Pokémon. So, I needed this the most."

"Hm..." That's right. I remember Eevee mentioned her "team" before...

"And two, _almost_ every Pokémon, regardless of type, can learn a normal type move. So we all agreed that this one seemed the most important."

"Well, whatever the reason, why did you bring me here?" I asked.

"I know I mentioned this a few times before, but those other three and I, we formed a Rescue Team! _Team PokéHeroes!_"

"A Rescue Team?" I wondered. Team "PokéHeroes"... I strangely like the name, despite being somewhat generic. Is their purpose as a team to help others, or something? Wow, what am I even thinking about!? Why else would it be called a _Rescue_ Team?

"I'm sure you can guess that, yes, we do go out and save other Pokémon who get lost in dungeons and such. But we also like to explore them for treasure, and we also get requests to take out leaders of evil factions."

I thought for a moment. "And, what does this have to do with me, or the dojo?" I wasn't irritated, but all this explaining was beginning to give me a headache.

"Well..." She paused for a moment, "... Would you like to join our team!?" Eevee sounded really excited when she asked this. I could see in her eyes that she wasn't _asking_, though. She was _begging_ me to join. I still owe her anyway. So if this will make up for almost killing her, then I guess I had little choice in the matter. But, it's not like I was going to say, "No," either way...

"Hm... alright. Sure, I'll join your team." I answered.

"Yes!" Eevee cheered happily. "But, there's just _one small, little thing_ you need to do first..."

I got irritated for a moment. So, I'm not part of her team, _yet? _What an annoying tease...

"And, what would that be?"

"You need to..." She paused. "Just like all other new recruits to the team, you need to take an entry exam!" Eevee was happy to tell me this.  
I wasn't. I didn't want to take any _test._

"Ugh..." I groaned loudly.

"Hehe, relax! It's nothing complicated. In fact, this should be really easy for you! All you have to do..." She paused again. Dammit, just tell me already! Now I was getting annoyed, but I took a deep breath and calmed myself.

"Yes? I need to do what?" I asked her so she would hurry up.

"... Defeat me in a battle!" Once again, she was smiling when she said this. I gave her a dumbfounded look.

"You-You're joking, right?" I almost brought Eevee to her death, twice. And now I have to intentionally hurt her, so that I can join her team, to ultimately help her? I slapped my face in confusion.

"Ah, but you didn't even let me finish!" Eevee smirked. So what? She has some kind of game set up, now? "It wouldn't be fair if I didn't make you fight like all the other past recruits. So... No sword, and none of that psychic... telekinetic... whatever it is, that you do with your hands and feet."

I paused and thought for a moment. Okay... Not using those psychic powers I developed, I can understand that. But without my sword... I'm practically worthless in battle... But, if I _really_ need to...

"Hm... fine. Although you're probably going to laugh at how bad I fight..."

"I don't care how you fight, I'm more interested to know if you _can _even beat me!" Eevee smirked. And now she has a cocky attitude. Whatever... I _will_ beat her, with, or without my sword.

We walked up the few steps leading into the dojo. Eevee walked over to the left side, and I went to the right. I tossed my satchel off to the side, and gently placed my sword next to it. But, strangely, as I was pulling my hand away from the sword's handle, I felt a zap go up my arm. The sudden feeling made me jump back, and the sword slipped out of my hand. The feeling was gone. I was curious as to what it was, but Eevee called out to me.

"Hey, come on! Hurry up!" I decided to ignore my sword.

She got into a "battle-ready" stance.

"Ready whenever you are!"

I readjusted my cloak around my head. I spread my feet an even distance apart, and held my arms up, as I got into my "battle-ready" stance. We stared at each other like this for a bit. The tension between us began to grow. The wind blew around me, and brushed my leaf tail. I felt bad doing this, since I had already harmed Eevee a lot in the past day. But, I needed to join her team... One thing I'm just remembering now is that I have my own set of moves as a Pokémon. What were they, though? It's been so long... "Leaf blade", "Leaf Tornado", and "Slam"... Two grass, and one normal move. There definitely isn't going to be any type advantage. Eevee might have a move planned that could really do some damage to me, though. So, I should be a bit careful... Finally, I gave the signal.

"Let's go!"

Eevee started to charge at me, while I held my ground. I wanted to see her strike, first. She leaped in the air and dived at me, some form of the move "Take Down", I think. Despite her speed, I rolled to my left, evading her attack. Then, I "slammed" my tail down on the back of her head, causing her to slap her face on the stone ground. I took a small leap back, in case she tried to counter-attack. Eevee slowly stood back up. She had a giant bruise on her forehead, and she was stumbling around. Did she get a concussion? Did I hit her that hard? Or was she that weak? Then again, I slammed her face on pure, solid stone. Of course, there was going to be some consequence to it. Honestly, I was ready to stop fighting. I didn't want to knock her out. But now that I think about it, I only used _one_ move so far. There's no way this battle was over. Eevee dashed at me again, but she was slower, and drifting to the side. Oh yeah, that one hit really dazed her. She leaped at me using "Tackle", but I easily dodged it, again. When she tried to turn around to face me, she fell on her side, but quickly got back up. I realized she isn't weak, she's just confused. I held my hands up, and began summoning nearby leaves to form the "Leaf Tornado". A swarm of leaves swirled around me. I then focused the tornado on Eevee, and launched it at her. Now, of course, since I'm sloppy at fighting, I completely missed her. The tornado zoomed right by her, collided with the hut in the back, and dissipated. The hut just shook a little from the attack. Eevee and I stared at where the tornado and hut made contact.

"Pfft... Ahahaha!" Eevee burst out laughing. "Wow! You really are _that_ bad at fighting! Ahaha!" She fell to the ground laughing some more. I just stood there looking like an idiot. I'm glad no one was around to see this... I felt it was unfair, to attack Eevee while she was laughing, so I gave her a moment to calm down.

"Ah... I'm sorry Snivy. But, I've never been in a battle where someone missed me by that much! I couldn't help myself." I ignored her comment.

"Just hurry up so we can continue our fight." I was irritated.

Once Eevee calmed down, she got into her stance, and charged at me, again. She wasn't as confused as before, but she was still having a hard time moving straight. However, she was moving at a lighting fast speed, faster than before. "Quick Attack" I guess... She already missed me twice, so I decided to take her head on, and give her a chance. I formed the "Leaf blade" in my hand, and got ready to strike at her. Unexpectedly, though, she dashed right around me, and I felt a sharp pain spread across my upper arm. She bit me.

"Ah! Damn!" I cried out in pain. I quickly jumped backwards, and drove Eevee into the ground, landing on my arm. She let go of me, at the sudden loss of air from the impact on the ground. Then, I hopped in the air, and "slammed" my tail down on her again, but this time I was so angry at her for biting me, that I put a lot more force on her. I didn't simply push down on her with my tail, I _crushed_ her into the ground, through the stone. Hell, I even left a small crater in the ground. I leaped back, exhausted, and walked to the edge of the crater. I looked down at Eevee. She whimpered there for a little bit, then she stopped moving.

Yes! I won! I smiled at my small victory. I knocked Eevee out, and now I was a part of her team. Now I can make up for all the bad stuff I did to her. Hehe...

Wait...

I stared at Eevee again. She really wasn't moving...

And then I realized... I had made the same past mistake...

_"Oh hell! I knocked Eevee out!"_


	9. The Test Of Fate

"Ohcrap, ohcrap, ohcrap!"

I was panicking, pacing back and forth, and slapping myself in the face, repeatedly. I didn't want to knock Eevee out. I just needed to beat her until she was exhausted and admitted defeat. Nothing more, nothing less. But no. Only I would be dumb enough to make this mistake. Damn...

I heard Eevee let out a soft moan. I hopped into the small crater I had made, where she lied. Her chest was moving up and down. So she is breathing, at least. I let out a sigh of relief. That tells me she is going to recover, but she still needs _some _sort of medical attention. I thought about going to ask one of the other Pokémon here at Paradise... but, if I told anyone else what happened, they would probably think that I had _intentionally_ harmed her, again. And that wouldn't make me look good. Especially since Eevee wouldn't be able to back me up. There's no help, and I have no... wait! My satchel! I ran over to where I placed my sword and satchel. I inspected my bag. A petrify orb, some blast seeds... and just _one_ Oran berry. They probably took the rest from me when I had originally beaten Eevee up, which I can understand. I took the Oran berry, and ran to Eevee.

"Eevee, here. I need you to eat this berry." She didn't respond. No sign of any indication she heard me. Her eyes were closed, and she was breathing heavily. I can't _not_ give her this berry. I need her to recover quickly. Even if it's just a small nibble, that would make me feel more reassured that she is going to be okay. But, she isn't taking it, so I guess I have to force her to eat it. I sliced a part of the berry off with my "Leaf blade", and held it to her mouth. Of course, she wasn't taking it, so I had to press it against her lips. I felt wrong for doing this, but I wasn't going to run away from her like last time. Eevee still wasn't eating the piece of the berry. I put more force on shoving it in her mouth, and it finally did slide into her mouth, unfortunately, with my fingers as well. I didn't care though, I just wanted her to heal up.

"Okay, good. Now just chew it..." I said quietly. I put my hands around Eevee's mouth to try to help her chew. She pushed her jaw down on the berry a few times, and I finally heard her swallow it. I fell backwards in relief. "Phew..." She may not have eaten the whole berry, but even a piece of it should help her. I looked at my hand that I fed her with. Oh jeez, she's going to kill_ me_ when I tell her what I did. I closed my eyes in exhaustion. I was already tired from fighting her, but _this_ nearly gave me a heart-attack.

The gray, gloomy clouds still blanketed the sky. It feels like it's been forever since I last saw the sun. I wanted to take this moment to calm down, but I knew I should still try to help Eevee. Hm... I thought about what Zekrom had told me, about how if I was truly sorry to Eevee, then she might forgive me. But this... this definitely didn't seem like something she'd forgive me for. I slapped myself in the face again. "I'm so hopeless..."

Wait a minute... Zekrom! The sword! I rushed over to my sword, and took it out of it's sheath. So, I just need to point it straight up at the sky on a _sunny_ day? Despite knowing it won't work on a cloudy day, I tried anyway, hoping to get a response. And...

…

Nothing. I mean, I heard static. But nothing else. There was no other way to reach Zekrom. I put the sword back in it's sheath, and put it around my back, along with my satchel. I walked over to Eevee and stared down at her, again. There wasn't much else I _could_ do... Well, maybe I should get her out of this crater. It looks uncomfortable. Strangely, despite not being able to lift her in the tree, and being fatigued, I was able to lift her now. My adrenaline must not have kicked in at that time, or something... I hung Eevee over my left shoulder. She was about the same size as me, but I had no trouble carrying her. I could hear her breathing, and her soft fur felt warm against me. I felt this weird feeling come over me, similar to when I grabbed Eevee and yelled at her earlier about being sorry. My face also felt hot, again, and my heart felt like it was pounding through my chest. But why, though? What was making me feel this way? Hm... I thought about Eevee...

She's done so much for me... I mean, originally, I had saved her life. But in the end, she saved me... She pulled me out of my feelings of doubt and hopelessness... She brought _hope_ back into my life. Even after harming her, she still wanted to be my friend... and she even took care of me when I was injured. Through her, I saw that there were still Pokémon who cared for others... who didn't think only for themselves... who expressed selflessness. Eevee...  
_You are the sunshine in my life...  
_Thank you...

* * *

I started walking out of the small crater. But, I heard a wicked laugh from behind me. It was loud and daunting. I turned around and saw a round, purple Pokémon standing at the top of the crater. His red eyes felt like they were piercing right though me. He had a sinister smile that made me uneasy. Why was a Gengar here?

"Ke-he-he... Well, well, well... it seems _fate_ has frowned upon the leader of Team PokéHeroes. Thanks for making my job easier!" He laughed some more at me. I could tell he wasn't a good guy.

"Who are you!?" I asked sternly. I didn't want him antagonizing me.

"Oh, I guess you could say I'm a little... shall we say... _friend_... of that Eevee there. Now if you would be so kind as to hand her to me, ke-he-he..."

Of course I didn't trust him. I placed Eevee down behind me, and pulled out my sword.

"I'm not letting you take her!" But he only laughed at me some more.

"KE-he-he! Foolish Pokémon... You dare stand against me? Gengar, chosen representative of the Great, Master _Kyurem?_ You really are stupid."

Okay. Now this Gengar was pissing me off... Hold on, Kyurem? That Legendary dragon Pokémon? I didn't know much about him, aside from the fact that he's a Legendary. How was he involved in this? Whatever, it doesn't matter right now. I need to protect Eevee!

"I've already made too many mistakes in the past day. I'm not about to make another one. I will protect Eevee, even if it means I have to sacrifice my own life!" I shouted this at him in spite. But, I was still tired from fighting Eevee, and my arms were shaking.

"Hehe, just look at you! You've got a courageous tone, but you're shaking in fear! Burning this place down is going to be a piece of cake! Why don't I start _with you!?_"

Gengar held his arms up, and formed a ball of energy in his hands. I didn't know what he was doing, so I quickly ran up in his face, and swung my sword at him. He jumped away, but I managed to scrape his arm. He winced at the pain.

"Ah... I guess I underestimated you. Ke-he-he..."

Now he ran up to me. I held my sword up in defense, but he struck me below in the stomach, and kicked me, throwing me backwards onto my side. I slowly stood back up. Gengar laughed as he put his arms out again, and formed that ball of energy.

"Hehe, if you were smart, you would've stayed down!" At those last two words, he launched the ball at me. I was too tired to evade, so I held up my sword to defend, again. Of course, the giant ball passes through the blade, and slams right at me right in the face. Something isn't right here... This sword contains the power of the Legend's. Why isn't it giving me any divine power? I was prepared to run at Gengar and strike, but he came up to me and punched me in the face. I stumbled backwards, breathing heavily.

"Hah... Damn... hah... You..." I tried to sound threatening. Gengar stood in front of me and laughed.

"You are indeed a weak opponent. I'm not going to waste my energy on something as worthless as you! Ke-he! Now... little miss Eevee over there..."

Gengar turned toward Eevee, and started walking to her. He held up one hand, and a purple aura surround his hand. I didn't know what he was doing, but I didn't want to find out. I slowly got up, again, but I could barely stand. I dashed at Gengar. I was shocked I didn't stumble over, or trip, or something, as I ran toward him.

"Oh no you freakin' don't!"

I slammed my whole body into Gengar, which sent him flying a few feet away. My satchel came off when I bumped into him, but I decided not to grab it. I was so weak now, that I really couldn't stand back up, but I was able to sit up.

"Gr... you little... I should have finished you off when I had the chance. Now I really am going to _kill you!_"

I pulled out my sword, and held it up in defense, but Gengar put his hand up, and flung it out of my grasp, using telekinesis. I really was screwed now. He shot another ball of energy into my face, and I fell onto my back. He walked over and cast his shadow over me. He had a great expression of hate and frustration on his face.

"Little annoying bugs like you deserve to die!" He gave a sinister smile. "And I guess your time has come! Ke-he-he!"

Gengar put both of his arms up. This time an even more huge ball of energy formed above him. I could feel my heart thump through my chest. I really was scared right now.

"Now, this is the part _where you die!_"

Is this it? Is this how I go out? A ball of energy to the face? I guess if that is what _fate_ planned for me... Then, this is my end. This is my path. I can not change what has been done, and what is to come. All that has happened in the past day... Saving a life, harming the innocent, being punished, making some friends, and correcting my mistakes... It was all going to end here...

I'm sorry Paradise.  
I'm sorry Team PokéHeroes.  
I'm sorry Zekrom.  
I'm sorry father.  
I'm sorry... Eevee...  
I closed my eyes. _This is the end..._

...

But, right at this moment, I heard a voice. It was in my head again. It seemed as if time stopped. I couldn't move either. The voice was clear as day. It had a certain divine tone to it. It said:

_"The wheel of fate is turning."_

That phrase... Arceus? Why is he telling me this? Suddenly, time reset back. Gengar was still laughing at me, prepared to throw his energy ball of death. I held up my arms as a last defense. But then I heard a loud "zap" sound. I put my arms down, and saw Gengar standing there, completely frozen. But why?

"Ke-... eh... I-I-... I can't... m-move..." He could barely talk, too. I scrambled away from him, in case this was a trick. But, he wasn't fooling me. I weakly stood back up, and looked over at Eevee. She was awake! She held up a shiny blue orb in her hand, and my satchel and sword lied beside her. She used my petrify orb! Gengar was frozen solid for right now. Suddenly, Eevee shouted at me.

"Snivy! Here, your sword!" She tossed me my sword. I grasped it with both of my hands. When I held it this time, it felt like I was holding the key to all my problems... This _is_ the key to my problems. _This_ is what will change my _fate..._ I turned toward Gengar.

"Hmph... _Fate_ has a funny sense of humor. Don't you think so?" I laughed at him for once. "Everyday, I wake up and take a long look at the Pokémon world... And I'm sure you know it's quite a mess at the moment. Selfishness and greed are overpowering trust and friendship. Every Pokémon is slowly turning to despair. As they see and hear more about things similar to what _you_ are doing, they're losing faith. They're losing hope. And even I fell into that state..." Gengar gave me a confused look. "Hm... Have you ever noticed how much we take the sun granted for? Every morning, the sun shines its light on the planet... _us,_ the Pokémon... and we never truly appreciate it for what it's doing. The sun gives us hope, and we just ignore it as if it's nothing." Gengar gave me another perplexed look.

"Your w-words... are... p-pointless..." he stammered. I ignored him and kept talking.

"I looked at the sun as a sign of hope. Seeing the sun made me grateful for every passing day, because _I don't want the world to fall into darkness..._ But, it's been a while since I last saw the sun..." I looked up at the sky. The gray clouds still blanketed it, and the wind howled around us. "And not seeing the sun made me realize that I can't always rely on the same thing for hope... I can't always find hope in myself... And feeling that sense of hopelessness made me make many regretful mistakes... I almost killed someone because of feeling that way..." I took out my sword and held it to Gengar's face. He gave me a guilty look. "As I said before, I vowed to do anything to protect Eevee, even if I had to sacrifice my own life. Because just like the sun, I found _hope_ through her. Despite all the crap I made her go through, she still saw me as a _friend_. She brought _hope_ back into my life. And you were going to take all of that away from me..." I tightened my grip on the sword. "That's why I'm going to make sure that you _never see the light of day, again!_" I raised my sword, with both hands, above my head, with full intentions of striking him down. Gengar tried to put his hands up in defense, fearing the pain that will come from my blade slicing at him. Of course, he couldn't move his arms because he was still petrified. I began to swing the sword down at him...

However, instead, a radiant beam of light shone down on me.

I froze, holding the sword above my head.


	10. Radiant Howl

**Ugh, sorry for the long delay! I got carried away with the beginning to my Summer. Also, I apologize, but this chapter is really short. I mainly just wanted to describe, as best I could, the event that happens here (I probably could have done a better job, but whatever). Anyway, I promise the next chapter will be longer!**

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What-... What's happening?

I feel... strong... really strong...

Where did this sunlight come from? It shone down on me like a spotlight, making me the center of attention. But why on me, though? And why is time frozen? I can't move, either. I'm still holding the sword above my head.

I glanced over at Gengar. He had a smirk on his face. Why was he smiling?

Power... Strength... I could feel it running through my body... But where was it coming from? The sword... the insignia on it lit up in a bright blue color. Is that the source of this feeling I'm having?

Suddenly, a strike of thunder zapped the tip of my sword, and a strange formation of blue lines formed all over it. All of this color blue... Zekrom? I heard a voice in my head, again. It wasn't Zekrom's, though.

_"Now... take your sword, and stab it into the ground..."_

Uh... why would I do that, when I could just strike Gengar down, right now? I would've ignored the voice, but the past few voices I heard in my head have been from two powerful beings. So, since I have no clue what's happening, I decided it was probably safer for me to just follow the command.

Time returned back. Gengar started laughing now.

"You fool... did you really think you could rely on a little petrification to stop me? And why did you hesitate? Hm, no matter... You really are stupid, though. Ke-he-he..." I saw him put his hands together. He was back to normal, and preparing another attack.

"Hm... well, I guess it's a good thing I don't need it anymore."

"Eh?" Gengar gave a confused and worried look.

I shoved the sword into the ground. A blue ring formed around where the blade met the ground. I felt another huge burst of energy and power run through my body. It was building up inside me. I could feel it... growing... and growing... a blue aura formed around me. Gengar became even more frightened. I even petrified him myself this time. This force was pushing against the tips of my fingers, my head, my whole body. I felt like a balloon, ready to burst open...

And then... I unleashed it...

I don't really know how to describe it... I guess a "poof" would be the closest way to put it. My whole body went, "poof". I let out a cry from the amount of power that exploded from within me...

"HHHHAAAAAA!"

A swirl of blue electricity formed around me. Actually, it was so big, it also encompassed Gengar, too. The power... the strength... it was flowing out of my body, like water rushing down a rapid river. This orb of electricity around Gengar and me kept zapping him repeatedly in a steady beat, but fast tempo. These "strings" of lightning also whipped and sliced at him (in addition to being zapped). Gengar grunted at each strike made against his body. But I... I kept feeling the power building up in me. It felt as if I was on top of the world, and destroying every single thing that stood before me. Imagine: The power to give life, and also, _take away_ life. To destroy the powerful, and raise the dead. Everything you touched bloomed and prospered... but as soon as you pull away, it all dies before you. That... was this power. Is this what the Legend's had? Was this even the power of the Legend's I was using? I knew now the power was coming from the sword... but, was Zekrom giving me this power? Was this _all_ of his power, or just a fraction? And if it was only a small portion, then just how _truly_ powerful was Zekrom and the other Legend's? This power kept stacking in my body. I need to let it out... to _obliterate_ Gengar. I held my hands up in front of me, and tried focusing the energy more towards Gengar.

_"NOW-YOU-DIE!"_

A second, smaller swirl of lightning formed around Gengar. It slashed at him a few more times. The power in me was beginning to reach its end. It kept pushing... and pushing... finally, I felt another "poof". A blast of energy exploded in front of Gengar. It flung him backwards, into the air. He then came crashing straight down, head first, into the ground. I finally felt all this power leave my body. It flowed out, like the stream of smoke left after burning out a candle. I felt my feet touch the ground. I didn't even notice that during this whole attack, I had been lifted off the ground. When I looked up, I noticed that I had created an even more ginormous crater in the ground, than the one I made when I slammed Eevee in the ground. Maybe it was about four feet deep? I was so tired I couldn't focus.

I held my hand to my head, staggered around a little, and then collapsed to the ground in exhaustion...


	11. And The Dust Settles?

**I promised you guys I'd make this next chapter long, so here you go! I hope it holds you over until the next one...**

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"Hah... hah..." I was breathing heavily from using that attack on Gengar. How did I even use that power? Who gave me that strength? I very weakly opened my eyes, and could only see everything in a faint image. My sword was laying down next to me. I guess, even though I shoved it into the ground, it came out when I formed this crater. The insignia pulsed blue again. I crawled over to the sword and grabbed the handle. The moment I put my grasp on it, everything seemed to clear up. My vision became more clearer, and I could stand on my feet again. But, I was still too tired to do anymore fighting. That beam of light that came from the sky was gone. Why did that show up? I couldn't tell what Eevee or Gengar were doing, because I was still in the center of the crater. A voice rang in my head.

_"Snivy? Hey, Snivy? You okay?"_ It was Zekrom's voice.

_"I'm... tired..."_ I responded.

_"It's okay, I gave you a little power through the sword so you can at least walk. Also, you don't need to worry about Gengar. The move you used on him should keep him from getting up again."_

I had so many questions swirling in my head to ask Zekrom, but he seemed to sense my confusion.

_"Ah, you are curious as to what has happened, yes? You don't need to answer. I can sense your exhaustion. Let me explain: You're probably wondering why it took so long for me to send you power through the sword. Remember that I can't contact you, unless there is a sunny sky, but it's still cloudy. So, before I could give you power, I needed the help of Arceus to clear the clouds away."_

So, that ray of light... was from Arceus?

_"With the cloud's gone, I sent a lot of my power into the sword. You saw the formation of blue lines appear on the blade, right? However, I'm curious as to how you knew to then place your sword into the ground. I didn't tell you that..."_

Then, that voice... that too, was Arceus...

_"Regardless, you managed to figure out what to do, and at that point my power I sent to the sword flowed out from you."_

So, I was right. Zekrom did give me that power. But why? I was about to strike Gengar down, myself. I feel like this was a bit of an "overkill", for lack of a better word.

_"Arceus originally didn't want to help, but he sensed that Gengar's attack seemed to be linked to Kyurem-"_

That name... Kyurem... Gengar said his master was Kyurem, right? Why was one of the Legends attacking Paradise?

_"It's come to our attention that Kyurem has turned against the other Legends, just as Dialga had done, long ago. You remember that story, don't you? Anyway, Arceus and the rest of us are trying to stop Kyurem. We don't exactly know his motives yet, but he's definitely not on our side at this point. Seeing that this attack from Gengar was really the work of Kyurem, Arceus decided to help. As I already said, he was the one to shine the light on you, so I could send you my power. We needed to make sure that Kyurem wasn't going to help Gengar, by using "protect" on him, or some other form of defense. That's why I sent you a lot of my power. If you swung your sword at Gengar, and he had "protect" on, it would've done nothing, and you definitely would be gone by now."_

Ah... So, this was all a safety precaution? I _almost_ feel bad for Gengar. "Almost" being the keyword here. Kyurem is now our main enemy. Do I have to stop him; is it up to me? What about Eevee, and everyone else here at Paradise?

_"I'm sure you're worried about these things. But, do not fear. We will discuss details in the future. I'm sure you would like to rest up, after releasing all that energy."_

Yeah... Getting some sleep right now, would be pretty nice...

I responded to Zekrom, _"Thank you, and Arceus, for the help."_

_ "I wish the best of luck to you, my friend!"_

And with that, I felt Zekrom's presence leave.

Alright, let's check up on things. I climbed out of the crater, grabbed my sword's sheathe, and wrapped it around my back. I looked up at the sky. The gray, gloomy clouds still covered it. I really do have to ask at this point: is the sun ever going to come back out? It's been so long... Despite the clouds, if I had to guess, I'd say it's probably some time pass noon, right now.  
Gengar was lying on the ground, about twenty feet away from me. I presume he's dead. I hope he's dead... I looked over at Eevee. She was still lying on the ground where I placed her. I'm shocked she didn't get caught in between my fight with Gengar... Wait... I remember Gengar was about to do something to Eevee. His hand had a purple aura around it, and Eevee had that aura around her, as well. But, then I rammed myself into Gengar and stopped him. Hehe, that was pretty funny now that I think about it... I hope Eevee's okay... I rushed over to her.

"Hey... Hey, Eevee..."

She moaned, yawned, and then slowly sat up. She still had scratches on her from our fight.

"Eevee, are you okay?"

She looked at her paws, her legs, and the rest of her body.

"I think so..." I could tell from the way she said it, that she wasn't sure.

"Are you sure? Can you remember everything okay? Do you feel weird, or feel like you have paralysis, or something?"

"No... I definitely don't feel any of that..." She still sounded unsure.

"Well, regardless, when we get back to the other part of Paradise, we're going to have to give you enough berries so that you don't have any possible status ailments."

"Hm... right..."

Eevee looked around. Her ears perked up when she saw the giant crater in the ground.

"Woah... where did that come from?"

"Well... uh... it came from me. I made it..."

"_You_ made that crater!? Wow... How did you-"

"I'll explain later. I think a more concerning matter would be getting out of here right now."

"Right..." Eevee paused for a moment. She was still looking at the crater, probably trying to figure out how I formed it.

"Can you walk?" I asked her.

"Let me see..." Eevee put her paws down on the ground, and slowly tried to lift her back legs up. However, I saw her legs start to shake. I swung my arm under her just before she collapsed to the ground.

"Ugh... sorry... thank you Snivy..."

"Hm... you're still pretty beat up from our fight, huh?"

"Yeah... Oh! That reminds me..." Eevee paused.

"What?" I asked. She still hesitated.

"Never mind... I can't tell you now, because of our current conditions..."

"It probably is better for us to hold off on any unnecessary chatting," I added.

I held my arm around Eevee, and she had her arm around me for support. I had to walk on my hands and feet, because Eevee wasn't use to walking on two legs; I couldn't stand up with her. We slowly started to limp out of this area. Her fur brushed against me, and her tail kept rubbing against my leaf tail. I felt that strange warm feeling come over me again. I think I started to blush, too... However, this feeling left me when we walked past Gengar. We both stopped when we saw him. I once again felt this slight feeling of guilt come over me. But, if I didn't stop him, then he would've killed Eevee, and then he'd destroy Paradise. His lifeless body was cold and still. It was quiet between us for a little bit. Eevee broke the silence. I could hear her make soft cries.

"It's a shame that innocent Pokémon like him fell for Kyurem's beliefs..."

I'm guessing Kyurem wants to destroy Paradise. But, he must have higher priorities if he had to send someone to do his work. I'd ask Eevee about this whole situation on Kyurem, but now probably isn't the best time. I better try to calm her...

"What should we do with Gengar?"

… I'm suddenly realizing that may not have been the right question to ask...

However, Eevee still answered.

"If I could, I'd take him under our care, make him see things differently, and make him become an ally. Kyurem has tricked many Pokémon into fighting us, because he believes he is right about the future. But... Kyurem is wrong..." She paused. "I'm glad you stopped him, Snivy. But... he didn't deserve this..."

I, once again, wanted to ask her about Kyurem, but it seemed best if I didn't.

"Hm... We'll come back for him later..." I said.

"How did you finish him off?" Eevee abruptly asked. "I mean, I was passed out, but I heard your sword land right in front of me. Your satchel was also nearby. Using the little strength I had, I first went to your satchel, and used your petrify orb before Gengar made his final attack. Then I tossed you your sword, and after that..." She paused, "... a-after that, I passed out... So, what happened?"

Why did Eevee stammer near the end? Was she hiding something? I ignored it, though, and answered her question.

"I'll need to explain later, but... I used electricity... from Zekrom, to finish him off..."

Eevee gave a confused look.

"How did you-"

"I really can't explain now. Let's just get out of here, first." I cut her off. I really didn't want to explain while we were both weak.

We began limping away from Gengar, and walked towards the steps of the mountain. Heh... I completely forgot we were on a mountain. As we kept walking away, I felt something strange... Like, as if something bad was going to happen. I had an idea of what was about to happen, but I really was hoping it wasn't true. I tried to walk faster, but Eevee was slowing me down. Suddenly, we both heard a voice.

"Ke-... he-... You should know that ghosts are pretty good at playing dead..."

We both quickly turned around, and Gengar was on his knees. He had his arm extended out, pulling off one more move. By the time we both fully turned toward him, he launched another beam at us. It was quick, but I had just enough time to shove Eevee off me so she couldn't get hit. However, I didn't have enough strength to move myself out of the way. I saw the beam go right through my body. I could feel it "hammer" into me. But... strangely, that was it. I felt fine, and didn't seem to be affected by any other ailment.

"Uh..." I stood there looking like an idiot, though.

"Hehe... I'll be seeing you... in... _hell_..." Gengar laughed, and then I finally saw his body drop dead.

I looked at my hands. What was that? What did he do to me?

"No... NO!" Eevee scrambled over to me. She still couldn't walk, so she crawled over. She placed her paws on my shoulders, and looked at me in the eye. Her face showed shock, fear, and worry.

"No, no, no, no..." She kept repeating this, and buried her head into my chest. If I wasn't concerned about what she was worried about, I'd probably be blushing again. I pulled her off me, and held her by her shoulders.

"Eevee, relax. Take a deep breath, and tell me what's the matter." I calmed her.

I began to see tears well up in her eyes again. I was starting to freak out a little. This must have been really serious.

"What's wrong Eevee!?" I asked her, impatiently.

"Y-You..." She was choking up. She paused for a moment. The tears were much more noticeable in her eyes now. Finally, she answered.

_"You've been... cursed..."_


	12. Don't Ever Forget

**Hey, folks. This is another really long chapter. So, once again, feel free to grab a cup of coffee or something... Oh, and just so you know, this story _is_ almost over. However, this _isn't_ the last chapter, so don't worry. I'll let you know when you're reading the last chapter.**

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Darkness. Despair. Hopelessness. I don't think I ever felt such a strange, but yet, compatible combination of feelings in my heart. I sat on the ground, facing the edge of the cliff on top of this mountain. Staring at my hands, I thought about how quickly it took to simply end one's life. All Gengar had to do was hit me with "curse", and my fate was set. I'm glad his body faded out of existence from using curse. (Literally, his body became surrounded with a light aura, and he began to fade out.) So now I don't need to worry about him ever coming back. But... I'm not going to be coming back either...

I could feel my body begin to weaken from the curse. My life being sucked from a supernatural force... It's scary when you think about it. In just a few moments, I'll be gone... I didn't think it could take just _one_ thing to make someone go from being happy, to being in one of the worst situations imaginable. Of course, I wasn't feeling very happy when I got the curse, but you get my point.

Eevee and I were staring out at the horizon, sitting on the soft grass. Still no sun... not even a speck of light. It pained me to not see the warm feeling of light, and the sense of hope that accompanied it. But, it's okay. You know why? _Because Eevee is here._ Just the fact that she stayed here with me as I was slipping away from life, made me feel happy. Eevee _is_ my sunshine. However, the thought of being gone within a few moments brought a lot of depression, which greatly outweighed my happiness.

I had explained to Eevee everything that happened: How I met Zekrom, the story with my father, how the sword worked, and how I made that last attack on Gengar. However, she doubted that I could communicate with Zekrom.

"There's no way that's possible!"

"I don't blame you for not believing me. Here, let me try something..."

I took out my sword and held it up. This still probably wouldn't work, but it's better than doing nothing. I tried contacting Zekrom.

_"Hey, Kekrom. Are you there?"_ I forgot that my responses were limited, unless I had gone into my sub-conscious to talk to him. However, I still waited for an answer. Just when I was about to put the sword down, I felt a presence enter my head. Zekrom's voice rung in my mind.

_"Snivy, are you there?" _

_"Yes! Thank you for answering!"_

_ "I thought I felt something trying to get my attention... Thankfully, I'm not in the middle of any tasks at the moment. I'm actually shocked you did get a hold of me, since there's still a cloudy sky."_

I explained to him how Gengar wasn't completely dead, and he managed to curse me, at the cost of killing himself.

_"Oh... I'm sorry to hear... It's a shame you've befallen a terrible fate..."_

I was about to go silent and get lost in depression again at the thought of dying from the curse... But I remembered Eevee didn't believe I had the ability to talk with Zekrom.

_"Sorry to change, but can others contact with this sword?"_ Despite the slight vagueness in my question, he seemed to understand.

_"Hm... are they with you right now? Tell them to put their hand on the sword."_

I told Eevee to put her paw on the handle, and to try speaking with her mind.

"Uh... O-okay..." She sounded a little scared. She might be afraid at the thought of having another voice talk in her head. Since my hands were wrapped around the whole handle on the sword, she had to place her paw on my hand. As silly and insignificant it is, I felt my face get warm again.

_"Uh... H-hello?"_

_ "Ah, are you the Eevee that Snivy told me about?"_

Eevee paused for a moment. She seemed shocked, but at the same time, confused at Zekrom. She was probably finding it weird to hear Zekrom talk rather formally. I know I did when I met him.

_"Y-yes... I am Eevee..." _She paused, _"Uh... are you really Zekrom?"_

_"Last I checked, I am the only Legend that is named, 'Zekrom'. Hehe..."_ He responded.

_"Hm... Well, then prove it!" _She probably didn't believe him because of that little joke he made. However, Zekrom laughed at her command.

_"Hahaha! Well... have you ever heard another voice in your head that you could communicate with? I believe that should be sufficient enough for proof."_

_ "Oh... yeah... I guess I didn't think of it that way... So, then you really are-" _Eevee's voice got cut off. Everything she tried to say after came out blank.

"You can only give short responses." I told her. "We'd be able to communicate better if it was sunny outside."

"Oh..." Eevee sounded annoyed. She continued to chat with Zekrom.

_"You control the lightning, correct?"_

_ "It is _one_ of my special abilities."_

_ "Was the power that you gave Snivy an ability, too?"_

_ "Ah, that was formed with some of the power from my signature move, 'Fusion Bolt'."_

_ "Fusion Bolt?"_

_ "Yes... It is an electric attack that only _I_ can use. You should consider yourself lucky, Snivy. Many Pok__émon dream of having that power... Of course, there are also many 'evil' Pokémon who would want it, as well..."_

Wow, exclusive power from Zekrom... And I have a sword to call for that power. I wonder if I can use it again... Zekrom waited for a response from Eevee.

_"Uh... Anything else, Eevee?" _He asked. After a few more seconds, she spoke.

_"What are your other special abilities?"_

_ "Well... I can-"_

_"Can you cure Snivy's curse!?" _Eevee cut him off. Wow... why didn't I think of asking him that? I guess I really shouldn't linger around in feelings of depression. It's becoming hard for me to think.

_"Uh... well... I..." _He sounded unsure. I began to worry.

_"Can you!?" _Eevee was pleading him for an answer. She really didn't want me to die. I guess she really does care about me... She was making me feel important.

Zekrom let out a sigh, _"As the believer of ideals, it is... erm... ideal that I tell you the truth..." _He paused, _"I do, in fact, possess the ability to cure Snivy's curse."_

_ "Really!? Then heal him!" _Eevee yelled at him, not angrily, though. She was just probably irritated from the fact that Zekrom knew this, and didn't bother mentioning it.

_"Listen, I would've definitely cured Snivy by now if I could... however, I am forbidden to do so."_

_ "What!? Why!?" _Eevee snapped. It seemed she was becoming desperate.

_"I'd hate to say this, but... in the eye's of the Legend's, Snivy is an unimportant __Pokémon. He does not possess any divine characteristics. Therefore, he is not worthy of receiving any form of healing power from me or any other Legendary Pokémon... I'm sorry Snivy..."_

_ "It's fine. I understand." _I finally said something in between their conversation. But beside that point... My only chance at being cured, and Zekrom isn't allowed to cure me. Great... I felt the depression coming back to me.

_"There really is no other way!?" _Eevee was begging Zekrom.

_"I'm sorry, but as one of my duties as a Legendary Pokémon, I have to abide by the commands of Arceus. Arceus would not allow the fate of Snivy to be tampered with, now that it has become clearly set. I am unable to cure him... No matter how much I really want to..."_

_ "You can't even make an exception for Snivy? He is the wielder of _your _divine sword."_

_ "Unfortunately, I really can't..."_

It became deathly silent between the three of us. There really was no hope...

_I am going to die..._

_"I think it's okay for you to leave now, Zekrom." _I told him.

_"Yes... You're right... Snivy, remember that when you die, your sub-conscious will be transported into the sword. I'll make sure I'm there to greet you once you do die. And, as for you, Eevee... I do really wish that our first conversation could have been under better circumstances. I apologize for not ending things on a happier note..."_

Eevee was silent. She was staring at the ground.

_"I bid you two, farewell. Eevee... May your future shine bright."_

And with that, I felt Zekrom's presence leave us.

I put the sword back into the sheathe on my back. Eevee looked out at the horizon. I lied down on the grass, and put my hands over my eyes. I felt my body get weaker again. I think my heartbeat is increasing, too. But I'm not entirely sure... This all happened because of Gengar. If Kyurem didn't- oh... wait... Kyurem. I know I'm dying, but I might as well ask her.

"Eevee..." She remained silent. I continued with my question, "Why is Kyurem attacking Paradise?"

Eevee let out a long, depressing sigh. I didn't push her though. I waited for an answer.

"Kyurem... He sits at the top of a place called Glacier Palace... There, he guards something called the "Bittercold". We still haven't confirmed anything yet, but from what we do know, eventually, the Bittercold will cover the entire planet. And all Pokémon will die from it... He's attacking us because we're trying to destroy the Bittercold."

"Why would he guard something as destructive as that?" Kyurem is a Legendary Pokémon. He's suppose to be helping us and keeping peace. Not letting the world get consumed by... well... _death_!

"Because he believes there is nothing he can do to stop the Bittercold. And being a Legendary, he also believes that no other Pokémon can stop it either. The fate of the whole world is on a path of destruction... and he's just sitting there doing nothing about it..." Eevee paused. So... the fate of the world is going down a dark path. I remember hearing many other Pokémon say, "Don't mess with fate"... But, I think we can call for an exception here.

"How long until it consumes the planet?" I asked.

"We don't know. We've only made it to Glacier Palace, once. It's not easy to travel to a floating piece of land in the sky."

"Wait... It's in the sky!?" How can there be any land, let alone a palace, in the sky?

"We haven't figured out what's keeping it up there, either. In fact, if you look over there..." Eevee pointed out to the left. I could barely make it out, but in the distance, I saw a little shadow. It seemed to take the form of a castle. But without getting closer, I couldn't tell myself. I'll have to take Eevee's word that it's a palace.

"Our friends, Espeon and Umbreon, went off to do more research on the palace. Of course, it takes a few days to get there... Hopefully, they'll have some good news to bring back..."

I stared out at the Palace. Kyurem is over there right now, along with the Bittercold, and he's doing _nothing_ to stop it. I see why the other Legends are against him, now.

"Snivy..." Eevee began, "When I first saw you... the strength you possessed, the abilities you had, your sword... You looked like you were a very tough Pokémon. I wanted- no... _needed_ you to join this team. I believed you had the potential to help us completely stop the Bittercold. And now that I know that your sword is divine, and you can use the power of the Legends, I definitely want you to help us. However..." She paused, "You've been cursed... In just a few hours- it could even be minutes now, you will be dead. The one last hope I thought I found... and Kyurem got rid of you by sending Gengar. I feel like, somehow, Kyurem knew. He might have told Gengar to get rid of Paradise, but probably sensed that Gengar might take you out along with Paradise..." I could see tears form in Eevee's eyes again. However, she gave a sarcastic laugh, "Haha... look at me... I didn't think this would ever happen. The reason I always acted so cheerful before, was because despite what I knew, I didn't want everyone else to fall in despair. And now look, I can't even keep myself happy..." She began to quietly cry...

Eevee... She didn't look at me as a friend... she saw me as _hope._ Which, coincidentally, is what I saw her as. She depended on me to help her save this planet. And now I can't. I felt really bad for Eevee... I felt even worse knowing that I'm dying from a curse, and she's going to die from the Bittercold. I'm not sure how it kills Pokémon, but it doesn't sound very pleasant. I felt my heartbeat grow faster. Eevee wanted me to not be just a friend, but a savior to all Pokémon. I began to feel warm again...

...

I wrapped my arms around Eevee. She gasped at my unexpected hug.

"Eevee... it's going to be okay." As pointless as that sounds, I still said it to her to try and make her feel calm. "Despite what's happening, I want you to know that I will always be supporting you. I've never met a Pokémon that was as kind and forgiving as you. Even when I faltered, you came to help me. You forgave me, and took care of me. When I, uh... attacked you from before, I thought you and the others were going to leave me to die out there in the forest. But, you brought me back to Paradise, and healed me. You made me see that things can change... that _fate_ can be changed. And if our world really does end on destruction, then let's take the path where we at least try to stop it. We _will_ stop the Bittercold... Eevee... I've never felt this much care for another Pokémon before. You gave me hope. You showed me light... You are my sunshine..." I paused for a moment. I couldn't really think of any other words of encouragement. But, I hope I at least made her happy. I heard her giggle, and she pushed me back, gently. She still had her paws on my shoulders, and she looked at my eyes.

"You know, Snivy... I did hear what you said to Gengar about me..." Oh crap, I didn't even think she was listening when I said that. I forgot she was even there. I was just explaining to him why I must kill him, because if I didn't, then I would look like a cold-blooded murderer... Anyway, Eevee was blushing, and I began to blush, too.

"Oh... uh... you heard all that?" Eevee pushed her face closer to mine. I felt my heartbeat increase.

"Hehe... I didn't know you felt that way, Snivy..." I saw her smile, and it made me smile, too. I guess I do feel a little _close_ to Eevee... "Hey, Snivy?" She asked.

"Uh... Y-yeah?" She paused, and stared into my eyes, as I stared into hers...

"Thank you..." Eevee whispered. Then, rather quickly, she placed her lips on mine, and she kissed me... I wasn't prepared, but I felt a warm feeling from her kiss, and it gave me comfort. I kissed her back. We embraced each others warmth...

I _do_ love Eevee. And I'm glad she loves me back...

After a few more seconds, Eevee pulled away from our kiss, smiling. I smiled back. We both wrapped our arms around each other.

"Eevee... I'm glad I got to become friends with you before I died..."

"And I'm glad you saved Paradise from Gengar... You know, he was originally here to kill me. So, that makes it twice now that you've saved me..." She gave me another quick kiss on my cheek. I felt myself blush again. We held each other close. We didn't want this moment to end. I closed my eyes. Eevee's warm fur brushed against me. I wish I could just hold Eevee forever... Unfortunately, I couldn't... I felt myself get weaker again from the curse. But this time it was more noticeable. I grunted at the pain.

"Oh no! Snivy, are you okay?" She worried over me.

"Ugh... I should be fine. As long as I can still walk..." I stood up, and took a few steps. I can walk... but I felt so exhausted, I fell to the ground. Eevee rushed over to me.

"You shouldn't move too much. Just try to rest..."

"Hehe... if only resting could make me recover my strength..." I tried to keep an upbeat mood... Of course, it's hard to stay positive when you're just a few minutes from death. I lied back down on the grass and placed my hands over my eyes again. "Oh, what's the point? I'm already dead..."

"Snivy..." Eevee was silent. She couldn't think of anyway to cheer me up. There's nothing anyone can really do to cheer up someone who's about to _die..._

I could sense Eevee beginning to cry again. But then I heard her gasp.

"Hey Snivy! Look!"

I sat up. She was pointing out towards the horizon. I didn't notice until now, but the clouds in the distance were parting away... I could...

_I could see the sun!_

It was a magnificent sunset. The red-orange rays of light spread across the land. The light reflected off the the crystal-clear water in the distance. I could feel the warmth of the radiant rays of light spread across my body. I could feel some strength return to me, too. (Y'know... Because I'm a grass-type... And the sun... Do I need to explain?) I slowly stood up, and held my arms out.

"What are you doing?" Eevee asked.

"I'm trying to take in as much of the sun's light as I can before I go..." The sun's warmth spread across my body, my face, and my tail. It felt so relaxing. I could feel my strength come back... but still... the curse was making me weaker. I felt it sap more of my life from me. I grunted at the pain again, and fell back on the ground. I don't think I can stand back up again, at this point.

"Oh, Snivy... I really wish there was something I could do..."

"I'm sorry I have to go... especially since I just met someone who I _love_..." Eevee blushed again. Suddenly, I saw her eyes widen.

"Oh, I almost forgot!" She stood, or rather, sat directly in front of me. I sat up, too. She closed her eyes, cleared her throat, and puffed out her chest, as if she were about to give a speech. "As leader of Team PokéHeroes, I hereby confirm you as a member of the team, for defeating me in a battle, and passing the entrance exam," then she whispered, "and for saving my life, too!" She gave me a wink. She handed her paw out to me. I smiled, and shook it. I'm now a member of the team... but for only a few minutes. I felt the curse suck out my life again. This time it was so strong I let out a sharp cry in pain.

"Ah!... Dammit!" I fell back on the ground again, breathing heavily... I guess my time's almost up... "Eevee... I think... I'm about to go..."

"No! Snivy... you can't..." But she knew I was leaving, too.

"Listen Eevee... when I'm gone... take my sword, and keep it somewhere safe. Hah... Let everyone know who I was... hah... And make sure the sword doesn't... fall into the wrong hands..."

I saw tears form in her eyes. But she gave me a stern look.

"I promise you will not be forgotten!"

"Hm... Thank you... I'm glad I got to meet... such a kind Pokémon... And, again..." I grabbed her paw, "I'm glad we became friends... _I love you..._"

"Snivy..." She leaned down and gave me another hug, and I hugged her back. Despite the comfort she gave me, I felt the curse eating at my life, again. However, it wasn't as painful. I didn't wince at the pain.

"Farewell... Eevee..." I slowly pulled away from hugging her, but she still held me. I closed my eyes as the curse weakened me further... "Please... _Don't ever forget..._"

_I slowly felt my life fade away..._


	13. Blinded By Light

**Quick note: This chapter is told from Eevee's Point-Of-View. Also, this chapter is... Well, remember how I said chapter 6, and the last chapter were the longest chapters? About that... This chapter is about an extra 1000 words more than those two. So, to compensate, I divided the chapter into _parts, _indicated by the Page Breaks. I'll be honest, the first part is a lot of recap and explaining from Eevee's view, but the other two parts are what make up this chapter. So, again, grab some coffee, or something, and enjoy!**

* * *

Snivy... He left two days ago. But it feels like it's been an eternity...

I remember when we met. I was in the tree at the split in the path to here, Paradise, and Post Town. I was in there because I had lost my mother's pendant. Panicking, I began to frantically search for it, but I got stuck at the edge of a branch, as I heard it begin to snap. My friends and I knew they wouldn't be able to come to my help. It was the end for me. But... then _he_ showed up. He gracefully leaped from the branches and, despite launching me in the air, he still helped me get back to the ground. I could tell he was a powerful Pokémon. I didn't think Snivy was much of a bad guy at first. But of course, I didn't completely trust him either. I offered him a place to rest as repayment for saving me. But because of the despair in this world... the fear, the mistrust in others, caused by Kyurem and the Bittercold, he didn't exactly think I was going to really reward him for the help. I still lead him to Paradise, though, by stealing his sword. He obviously wasn't happy at me, but once he saw Paradise, his view on us changed. And I thought we could become friends, if I just simply acted nice to him. I could see that he was just confused. He needed to see that there are Pokémon that can be trusted. But he...

He attacked me... He blasted me into the wall with his weird psychic powers because I poked fun at him. I didn't think he was _that_ serious about everything. At first I was angry, and disappointed in him; He overreacted. But just when he was about to kill me, I saw the regret in his eyes. I could tell he knew that he made a mistake. Clearly, he was regretful about it, because he didn't say anything. He just left with a shocked and worried expression on his face. He wanted to make up for it, but didn't know how. He got scared and ran off. That's when I realized that he isn't truly that bad. Otherwise, he probably _would've_ killed me. The others saw him run out, and they chased after him. Of course, they were idiots and forgot about helping me... (They have... weird priorities. Offensive, good. Defensive, good. Supportive... not so good.) However, the bowls of berries that Snivy and I were eating luckily contained a few Oran Berries. I quickly ate a few, and ran off after them. When I found them, Snivy was completely _destroyed._ Blood dripping from his mouth, burn marks, scratches... They really tore Snivy apart. But... they didn't have a _single_ mark or anything on them. Snivy _let_ them beat him. That's how bad he felt. Then I saw Mienfoo was going to end Snivy with his sword... Mienfoo always refused to use any kind of item or weapon (he cared too much about his pride, or something...). So Snivy _wanted_ Mienfoo to kill him with a sword. Snivy saw this as a punishment for hurting me. I stopped them, though. I appreciated the fact that they attacked him because I was the leader, but sheesh... they didn't have to _kill_ him. Now, if Snivy _did_ kill me, then that would be a different story... Snivy asked me to hit him, so that it would even the pain that he inflicted to me. I hesitated, but punched Snivy in the face anyway, because he _did _deserve it. Honestly, it felt really good punching him, hehe... But anyway, I ordered Mienfoo, Oshawott, and Chimchar to help me bring Snivy back to Paradise. They were reluctant and confused, but I told them I had personal matters to deal with Snivy... And I was partially right about that.

I took care of Snivy until he woke up, which was the next day. I thought now would be my chance to see if I could get Snivy to join us. But he, unexpectedly, apologized greatly for what he did to me. I sorta brushed off his apology though, because I already knew he was sorry. But then... he looked me in the eyes, and _made_ me see how sorry he was. I don't know why, but... it was then that I realized... that Snivy had the potential to be a great friend. And... I became _close_ to him... Despite us seeing him as an enemy, he truly apologized for everything he did. Seeing that he was an innocent Pokémon, influenced by the problems of the world... that's what made me like him so much. He showed me that we were able to change others, and make them more trusting, and caring. (Despite the fact that we, or rather, _they_ almost killed him.) That's why I slowly began to _love_ him...

After Snivy saved me and the rest of Paradise from Gengar, I became even more attached to him. He protected me, the leader, when I was weak, and unable to fight for myself. He could have easily betrayed me, but he didn't... _I loved him for that..._

As I held on to Snivy while he was dying from the curse, I felt him fading away. Then, his body shone a bright light, and he was absorbed into his sword. I remember staring at the sword, hoping that he would come back... of course, _he didn't..._

I rushed back to Paradise with Snivy's sword. Everyone was already in a panic when I got there, though, because I was gone for so long. We all regrouped at the center of Paradise, where our main base was. Oshawott, Chimchar, Mienfoo, and the rest of our recruited members all rushed there. But Espeon and Umbreon still weren't back yet. We'll have to tell them everything when they return. I told everyone what happened. Gengar attacking Paradise, Snivy defeating him with Zekrom's power while I was defenseless, and Snivy joining the team... When they heard me say that he was a part of the team, they cheered at the bravery he showed for protecting me, and the fact that he had the power of the Legend's, so we could end Kyurem once and for all. But... when I mentioned that Gengar still cursed Snivy... and he died... they all immediately went into silence. I could sense the sorrow and depression radiating from them. But I wasn't about to make them all lose hope! I stood up, and held Snivy's sword in the air, as high as I could. And then... I still remember what I said...

"This is Snivy's sword. We are going to honor Snivy by putting his sword up for display. That way, everyone who sees it will know that our goal to abolish the mistrust in this world, is proving to be successful. And those we saved, were willing to go as far as to even _die_ for us, and for every other Pokémon on this planet. His sword will inspire courage, and show that we _still_ have a chance at saving the world! _We will stop the Bittercold!_"

That last sentence... that was what Snivy said to me. Everyone cheered at my speech. We made many plans to improve Paradise and spread awareness the next day.

To display Snivy's sword, we asked the gold collector at Post Town, Cofagrigus, to make an impenetrable case for the sword; he agreed. A few hours later, a small altar appeared in the center of Paradise, next to the main base. It looked ordinary, but a faint black aura glowed around it. Cofagrigus told us that the only one who can grab whatever object that sat in the altar, was him. He made a special psychic lock. But he also mentioned that any Legendary Pokémon has the strength to simply brake it. I didn't worry, though. Kyurem wouldn't come here, not out in the open. He'd probably get weak from leaving the Glacier Palace. And the other Legends, as far as what Snivy told me, were on our side, against Kyurem. So, Snivy's sword is completely protected. I placed it on top of the altar, and the sword levitated above it, so that everyone could see. Hm... I remember I stared at the sword for a bit, thinking about Snivy... And when I turned around, everyone was there, watching it with me. I felt tears of joy crawl up in my eyes. _This_ is what we needed. _Hope... _

Thank you, Snivy. I wonder what you're doing now...

* * *

The next day came, leading to now, the present. This is the second day that Snivy's been gone. I sat in front of the altar, watching the sword carefully (as I explained the past events, above). I looked at the sky. There was a bright sun, floating in that big blue sea that we call the "sky". Not a cloud in sight. Snivy would want to see this sky...

Some of our team members were off doing job requests. Others were running the facilities and managing the fields of berries and seeds. And everyone else was just enjoying this gorgeous day... I felt Oshawott, Mienfoo, and Chimchar walk up behind me. They didn't say anything, and I didn't face them. Those three have been my closest friends from the very beginning. They were the ones who originally helped me start Paradise. That's why they always got angry when someone attacked me. I'm thankful to have them as friends... After I stared a little longer at Snivy's sword, Oshawott spoke to me.

"Hey Eevee... Listen," he sighed, "I'm not trying to be rude, and I completely understand how you're feeling right now... but it's time we move on. Honestly, we're afraid if you keep staring at his sword, and others see you do it for so long, they might get sad, too. So... we need you to stop for now. Of course, you can still look when you want, just not when everyone else can easily see you." Oshawott had a point. I know I'm sad that Snivy's gone. But... I can't let that get to me! Oshawott is right! I'm the leader of this team for a reason! I need to demonstrate to everyone how to keep their heads high, even in the deepest pit of hopelessness. And... I'm sure Snivy wouldn't be too happy if I was like this all the time, either.

"Alright... yeah. Let's go." I said it calmly. I didn't want to push myself too much. "What are today's plans?" I asked.

Chimchar answered, "We don't have any tasks at the moment. Everyone else went off to take the important jobs."

"So... there's nothing for us to do?" Strange... We usually _almost always _have work to do...

"Well, there is wo- I mean, no! No there isn't any work! Uh..."

"What? Are you hiding something from me?" Chimchar was acting strange.

"Oh, nice going, Chimchar! Of course now she knows something's up. You had to give us away... ugh..." Oshawott got frustrated.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Chimchar apologized. I'm still confused, though.

"What's going on?" I asked. Oshawott explained things to me.

"Hm... okay look... We _do_ have some work that we can do... However, the three of us decided that because of how you must be feeling, we thought it would be better if we all took the day off..."

I was about to get angry at them, for lying to me. But... I thought about it some more. They only lied because they were looking out for me. They didn't want me to push myself, since I still missed Snivy... I gave a small smile to them.

"Thank you guys... I appreciate you looking out for me..." Oshawott and Chimchar smiled back. Mienfoo then took a step forward, and finally spoke.

"Actually, if you want, there is something we _can _do today, besides requests..."

"Oh really? Like what?" Oshawott and Chimchar looked interested, too. I guess Mienfoo didn't tell them about this.

"I heard a rumor that Kecleon got something really rare in his shop. If you want, we could go check it out..."

"Well, if we're taking the day off from normal jobs, then why not?" Mienfoo nodded his head in agreement. Chimchar and Oshawott also got excited. We went into the base to grab our messenger bags, and then we headed out the exit in the south part of Paradise. Our feet dragged along the dirt path. The warmth of the sun shone down on us, giving a feeling of happiness with it. However, I remained in a gloomy mood. We came to the fork in the path, the left leading to an open field, and straight ahead lead to Post Town. Snivy came from the left path... I looked to the right, and the tree I got stuck in was still there, too. That's where Snivy first rescued me... I got stuck because I was looking for my mother's pendant in there. Would... Snivy have helped me look for it if I asked him? We continued straight towards Post Town.

As usual, the center of town was a busy place. The air was filled with noise, ranging from the older Pokémons' conversations, to the younger Pokémons' laughter and merriment. Kecleon's shop happened to be the first building on the right as we entered. He seemed to be resting his head on the counter, sleeping in the shade that his store provided on this lovely day. The four of us walked up to him.

"Excuse me, Kecleon..." I didn't want to abruptly awaken him. He slowly sat up and yawned, indicating he had a good nap. He rubbed his eyes, and then looked at us. He gave a welcoming smile.

"Ah, if it isn't the leader of Team PokéHeroes... Welcome! It's always a pleasure to see you! Now... What brings you to my store today?" I don't know why, but Kecleon's cheerfulness always made it impossible to _not_ smile around him. So, naturally, I presented a smile to him.

"It's good to see you Kecleon! Um... According to my friend Mienfoo here," Mienfoo nodded his head, "there's a rumor that you have a... _special_... item in your stock. Mind if we see what it is?" Kecleon's eyes widened. But he quickly narrowed them, and repeatedly looked left and right. After a moment, he turned his attention to us again.

"Hm... okay. I'll show you. Quick, follow me to the back." He put up a small sign that said, "Back in a few minutes." He then hopped over the counter, and hastily walked to the back of the shop. The four of us exchanged looks of confusion, but followed him, anyway. Behind Kecleon's store was just a bunch of bland, uninteresting wooden crates, stacked in piles of two or three. I assume they contain all of his wares. All the crates were wrapped in two sets of chains and bound together by dull, gray locks. Kecleon pushed the crates out of the way, as if to be digging towards the center of them. Eventually, he stopped, and quickly looked to his left and right again. He then pushed a few crates in a circle formation around us. He must really want to keep this item a secret... Finally, he turned towards us.

"Hm... okay. Pay close attention, because I don't want to hold this out in the open for too long..."

I became a little nervous. However, the other three had straight faces, unaffected by the secrecy of the item we were about to be shown. Kecleon presented a small crate, with a much brighter, silver lock, in his hand. He then clasped his hands together, and closed his eyes. After a few moments he opened his eyes, and slowly spread his hands apart. His hands revealed both, the crate, and a silver key. It's interesting how every shop has some way of keeping things hidden... He unlocked the crate, and reached inside it. He then gave us another look of security.

"Now, I need you all to be quick about this... I don't want to hold it out for too long. Someone could come by and snatch it..."

We all nodded our heads. Kecleon pulled out a small, green stone, about the size of his palm. It gave off a faint light.

"What is it?" I asked.

"This... This is a Wish Stone..."

"A Wish Stone?" The other three also gave looks of interest at the small stone. Kecleon continued explaining.

"Yes... According to the stories of the Legend's, the Legendary Pokémon, Jirachi, apparently made a few handful of stones that have the ability to grant a wish. They're placed all over the planet. However, it's said that Jirachi placed them in many hard to reach areas, that make it seem almost pointless to go after them, such as the bottom of a volcano, or the deepest, darkest place in the ocean. A few days ago, a Pokémon by the name of Charizard, came through here and sold the stone to me. He said he strangely found it simply lying on the ground. He feared that the stone was fake, and offered it to me. Normally, something like this is priceless... Someone would have to buy it for, at least, one million Poké... but he said he'd give it to me for five hundred thousand Poké, instead. Although I did fear that it might be fake, I could also make a huge profit if I bought it for that much Poké... And, as you can see, I did buy it..." He paused for a moment. "Now, I was going to wait for someone professional to examine it, so that I might sell it at a higher price. But..." he narrowed his eyes at us, "because of all the things you've done, and are still doing for the Pokémon community, I am willing to sell it to you, if you want..."

The four of us stared at the stone. Hm... With an ability to grant wishes, you would think it would be a gem, or a crystal. But, it's just a simple stone that gave off a faint light. A stone that granted wishes... I could... I could use it to bring Snivy _back to life_. I was about to get carried away and hastily buy it, but then I thought about if it was a fake. Then it would waste my time, my money, and probably make me even more depressed. But... it could be real...

It could be real.

It _could_ be real.

_It could be real..._

This one possibility kept clogging my mind. If it is real, then I could bring Snivy back. I began to break into a sweat, because the more I thought about it, the more it seemed I _should_ buy it. It's possible that it is a real Wish Stone. And if I don't buy it now, I may never get a second chance... Despite, how much I knew my head was telling me "no", I decided to give in to my heart, who was saying "yes".

"How much for it!?" I snapped at Kecleon by accident, "Oh... s-sorry..." I quickly apologized. I got really worked up over thinking about whether or not to purchase the stone. Kecleon remained calm the entire time, though.

"I'd hate to have to put a price like this on it, but I'll have to though, to even out how much I bought it for..."

"So it's five hundred thousand Poké?" Kecleon nodded his head. Suddenly, my spirits dropped. I reached in my bag, and counted my money. Ten... Twenty... Thirty... Forty thousand... That's all I had. I placed it down on the ground without saying anything. I wasn't offering it, I was pointing out that I didn't have enough. I let out a depressing sigh, and felt bits of sorrow build up inside me...

But then Oshawott spoke, "Here, let me help, Eevee..." He placed some more money on the pile. "Hey, I've got some money to spare, too!" Chimchar chimed in. He also tossed some money in the pile. I turned towards them.

"But... why?"

"Hey, we're friends for a reason. Don't worry about it. Plus, we're pretty sure we know what you're going to do with it. We hate seeing you get sad all the time. If this can cheer you back up, then we're all in for it." I felt tears of joy crawl up in my eyes.

"Thank you..." I said it quietly. They truly are great friends...

I counted the coins again.

"Two hundred thirty thousand..." I said it aloud. We still don't have enough. But then Mienfoo walked over. He shockingly dropped a huge sack filled with Poké into the pile.

"There should be another two hundred thousand in that bag."

"Two hundred thousand!? In this one bag? Where did you get all that money!?"

"Hm... while you guys see all of your items as a lot of help, their only practical use, to me, is for making money. I sell them all..."

"But, I mean... are you sure? How much money do you even have?"

"It would probably be safer if I didn't answer that question..." Mienfoo smirked at me. I stared at the money we had. I've never seen so much money in one place, before. Our total is four hundred thirty thousand. We were still short, but... I tried to ask Kecleon for the stone, anyway.

"This is all we have. We promise to pay you back the rest at another time. If we give you this much for now, can we still have the stone?" Kecleon gave a surprised look.

"I've never seen so much dedication from a small group of Pokémon! You put so much money towards something that may, or may not, even be real! Don't worry about paying the rest off; you can have this stone. But, before I give it to you, remember that all transactions are final. There are no refunds. Are you sure you want to purchase this?"

I turned towards the other three. They all smiled, and nodded their heads. I felt a smile grow on my face. It's been a while since I felt this happy. Although, it's because I'm excited, I still felt joy from knowing that I had their support. I turned back towards Kecleon.

"Yes! We would like to buy this!" I got even more excited. Kecleon placed the stone back in the small crate. He handed it to me, along with the key. I placed the two items in my bag.

"Be careful... Oh, and don't worry about the money. I can handle it, myself."

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" I greatly thanked him for selling the stone to us.

The four of us hastily walked out of Post Town, and ran back to Paradise.

Snivy... I can't wait to see you again!

* * *

We huddled around near the altar with Snivy's sword. I took the Wish Stone out from it's crate. The light that radiated from it, glimmered in our eyes. I can't believe it. I can bring Snivy back... I can bring Snivy back to life! The stone sat in my paw, as we all stared at it.

"Alright, let's make this wish!" The other three got excited and stood around me. I clenched the stone tightly. And then...

…

Um...

And then I... wait... what _am_ I suppose to do? I have the stone, but... _how do I make the wish?_ I gave a confused look to Oshawott, Chimchar, and Mienfoo. They all returned the same look.

"What's wrong?" Oshawott asked.

"I... um... How exactly _do_ I make the wish?" Their faces distorted into even more confusion. Not one of the three had an idea on how this worked. If there was ever a time where I truly felt stupid... now was a very obvious time... I continued to stare at the stone.

"How about just holding it in your hand and making the wish?" Chimchar suggested. I guess I could try... I firmly grasped the stone, and thought in my head, _"I wish for my friend, Snivy, to live again!"_

… And nothing happened. I tilted my head in confusion. Actually, I'm not really sure if it _didn't _do anything. There was no indication from the stone telling me that something did, or didn't, happen. We all stared at the stone for a little longer. Finally Mienfoo had a suggestion.

"If you think about it, the stone was made by Jirachi, correct? Maybe since it's something that's divine, we need to show more honor for it. A ritual, if you will..." That seems to make sense. I placed the stone down on the soft grass. The four of us sat about two feet away, forming a circle around it.

"Alright, let's try this..." I was beginning to doubt this would work, but it's better than doing nothing. It's the closest thing to a ritual I could think of for a stone... I told the others to say in their heads, "I wish for my friend, Snivy, to live again." They nodded their heads. We sat there, staring intensely at the stone.

_I wish for my friend, Snivy, to live again._

_ ..._

_ I wish for my friend, Snivy, to live again!_

_ Hm..._

"Does anyone else think it's working?" I asked them.

"Nope."

"No."

Mienfoo didn't respond.

I let out an annoyed sigh.

"Alright, you guys can stop." The trio sat up, and took their gazes off the stone.

I picked up the stone, and held it in both of my paws. The stone wasn't working. It was fake... I felt my depression hit me pretty hard. We wasted our money on this thing and it didn't give us a wish... I should have known better than to believe some stupid story. I could feel tears well up in my eyes. I'm sorry... Snivy... The other three quickly huddled around me.

"Woah, Eevee, it's okay! You don't need to cry. We did what we could for now. And that's what matters most." Oshawott tried cheering me up.

"If Snivy were here, he'd be happy to know that we at least tried to get him back..." Chimchar added.

I still felt sorrow and hopelessness build up in me. Mienfoo placed his hand on my shoulder for reassurance. I closed my eyes tight. I wanted this to work... This _needed_ to work! I looked up at the sky, holding the stone in my hands. I held it up.

_"I wish Snivy could live again!" _I shouted out loud. I was positive that would still accomplish nothing.

However... the light in the stone began to grow brighter. Suddenly, it was a blinding light. The other three put their hands over their eyes and looked away. But strangely... I could still look at it with no problem. The stone floated off my hands and slowly rose up to the sky. It went faster, and farther away. The light traveled with it for a few more miles into air. Oshawott, Chimchar, and Mienfoo looked back now. They stared up at the sky with me. It was sunset now. You could see the nightly stars begin to shine in the dark blue sky. The stone's light flew up towards the stars, and eventually it blended with the rest of them. The four of us stared at the sky, as we realized what we just witnessed. Chimchar spoke.

"Um... so, did it work?"

"I don't know... We'll have to wait and see... and _hope_, too..." They continued to stare at the stars. I looked over at Snivy's sword.

Snivy... I hope you'll come back...


	14. The Fountain Of Wishes

**Quick Note: To prevent confusion with the previous chapter, this chapter switches back to Snivy's Point-Of-View. And it will be that way for the rest of the story.  
Enjoy!**

* * *

Silence. Sweet, blissful, silence. I tried looking at the positives of being dead. There's no noise. No sounds. Peace and quiet. I really enjoyed it... I also don't need to worry about eating, drinking, sleeping... you know, the normal daily tasks we _have_ to do to survive. Maybe being dead isn't such a bad thing... Of course, I would prefer to live. But seeing that this is what happens when you die, it's really not that bad. Although... I still miss being in the company of others. I remember when I was an irritable Pokémon, who wanted to avoid socializing with others. But, after those events in the past two days... I realized I really missed seeing the faces of other Pokémon. I missed the Pokémon at Paradise... _I missed Eevee. _Hm... I guess the saying is true. "You never know what you really have until it's _gone._" If I remember correctly, I should be on my way to Zekrom, inside the sword. Was I there yet?

I felt a breeze blow over my body. I wrapped my arms around myself to keep warm. Wait a second... How can there be a breeze? I'm dead, aren't I? I opened my eyes... okay, if I can open my eyes, then I can't be dead... What's going on here? I looked around the area. I was in a "room" similar to the one inside the sword, where I met Zekrom. The ground was a purple haze, and it looked like I could see deep down into it, making it confusing to walk on. Instead of a gray aura in the distance, it was a light blue aura. Again, it seemed to go out for an infinite distance. I felt a faint wind blow around this "room". It wasn't freezing, but it did leave me with a chill. And next to where I was lying down, there was a small water fountain. It was a stone circle, with a shallow puddle of water in the center. Four pillars, engraved with detailed carvings, rose from the edges of the fountain. I stood up and looked at my hands. I wasn't in an outline, like I was when I met Zekrom. My whole body was here. I was missing my cloak, though...

The water in the fountain was a light blue. A faint glow came from it. I walked over and took a closer look. The water was crystal-clear. I was afraid to touch it, though, because it's purity might become corrupt if someone like me were to touch it. I noticed my reflection in the water, and stared at it. My red eyes seemed to glare at me... As if, despite all the good I've done, they're reminding me of all the mistakes I've made. I continued to stare into my reflection...

"You looking to go for a swim, or something?" The unexpected voice that came from behind caused me to jump, and I fell into the water. I quickly sat myself up, and spat out the water that was in my mouth. Who's voice was that? I looked towards where the voice came from. The water in my eyes caused me to see a blurred figure. I quickly rubbed them, and blinked a few times. I finally saw who this character was. It was the Legendary Pokémon, Jirachi. He-... wait, is he even a _he_? How do I know if Jirachi is a guy or a girl? Uh... I'll just refer to Jirachi as _it, _for now...

Anyway, it was levitating in the air, and it presented a smile to me. "So, how's the water? Hehe..." Jirachi definitely _sounded_ like a girl, having a high pitched voice... Judging by the joke it made, I assumed it was okay for me to fall into the water.

"Well, I wasn't exactly planning to go for a swim, right now..." I replied with a somewhat annoyed voice. I stepped out of the fountain and shook the water off my body. "Hey, where am I?"

"This is the Fountain of Wishes! Welcome!" Jirachi said it in a very enthusiastic way.

"The Fountain of Wishes? ... Why am I here? I'm suppose to be in my sword-" I realized that Jirachi doesn't know what I mean. I was about to explain what I meant, but she- I mean, _it_, replied back, knowing full well what I meant.

"Oh, that's an easy one, silly!" It floated down to the ground and walked next to me. "You see, after you died from that nasty Gengar's curse-" Okay, so it knew more about me than I thought. But how?

"Wait, how do you know about Gengar and the curse he gave me?" Jirachi looked at me with his-, no, _it's_, light blue eyes, and smiled.

"Well, when Zekrom told the other Legendary Pokémon and me about how he found that Snivy's son, and he kept going off about what was happening, I decided to grab a front row seat in the show. Plus, I'm a sucker for stories about young love..." Jirachi gave me a wink. I felt my face blush, but kept a stern look. I get the feeling Jirachi was watching us a little _too_ closely... "If you really want to know, I've been watching you for the past, oh... seven chapters."

"Wait, what? Chapters?"

"Uh... it's a long story- Look, that's not important right now. You want to know why you're here, right?"

"Um... Actually, _how_ did I get here?" I asked. Jirachi turned towards me, and gave me a slightly worried look.

"Hm... Alright. I'll explain it in the most basic and easy-to-understand way. Otherwise, you'd definitely get confused if I explained all the technicalities..." It walked over to me and it held it's finger up sideways. "Okay, look: This is where you were when you were alive," it pointed at the tip of it's finger, "And this is where you would've been if you had gone inside your sword," it pointed at it's finger's major knuckle, "So, because you completely died, it took longer for you to travel between these two points," it pointed along the rest of it's finger, "And so, it was inside _this_ area that I was able to swoop in and snatch you." Jirachi then put it's hands down, leaned back, floated backwards in the air, and crossed it's arms. "And that's _basically_ how I got you here..." Jirachi gave me another smile.

"Oh... I guess that makes sense..." I said weakly. That was... a weird explanation... I could tell that it tried, tho- okay, if I have to keep calling Jirachi an "it", I might go crazy. I have to ask to preserve my sanity.

"Hey, Jirachi..." I paused. I was afraid it would- no, no... I _have_ to ask... "Um... I'm only asking this because I'm sure my mind will go insane if I don't know the answer, but... Are you a boy or a girl?" I tried to sound as polite as possible with my question. However, Jirachi slapped itself in the face. But, then it started laughing.

"Haha... You know... you're not the first Pokémon to have asked..." Phew, I suddenly felt less stupid about the question. Jirachi floated down to my face. "Hehe... I'm a _girl_, you idiot!" Despite the smile Jirachi gave, she flicked the tip of my nose, to show her annoyance. As I rubbed it to relieve the small pain, I realized how more comforting it was to be able to call her a "she" instead of an "it". My mind will thank me later...

"Thanks for the answer... Anyway, so, uh... Now... Why am I here? And why am I alive?" I asked.

"Well I can't talk to dead people, stupid." She flicked my nose again. "_I _brought you to life. And that's because I needed to talk to you, _here_."

"But why-?"

"Hold on, I'm getting there..." She cut me off. "I brought you here because... a certain _somebody_ that you know, wished for you to come back to life." I gave a confused look. Somebody wanted me to live again? It's probably obvious who, but because I'm an idiot, I asked,

"Who wanted me to come back to life?"

"Sheesh, really? You don't know? You only spent the last thirty minutes or so, when you were alive, expressing your _love_ to her... Hehe..." I felt my face get warm again.

"Oh... so, Eevee? Eevee wished for my life back!?"

"Yep! And not only that, but look." Jirachi pointed straight up. I tilted my head back and looked up. Millions of stars were twinkling in the sky... Or is that the ceiling? I can't tell if this "room" is inside or outside. I can feel a breeze, so probably outside... "Notice anything strange about the stars?" Jirachi asked. I looked harder, and noticed that directly above us was a green star that was slightly bigger, and shone brighter.

"What's up with that one?" I asked, pointing at the odd star.

"You see," Jirachi began, "all of those stars up there are wishes that every Pokémon has made. Each one represents a different wish from a different Pokémon. My job is to go through and sort out the good wishes from the evil and selfish ones. And even then, I still have to see which of the good ones are worth granting. However..." Jirachi paused, "That green star was made using one of my Wish Stones..."

"A Wish Stone?" I asked.

"Yes. All over the planet, I hid a few Wish Stones in many hard to reach areas. The wishes made with Wish Stones are guaranteed to be granted right away. Of course, I still check them to see if they're bad wishes. This one, however..." Jirachi paused again, "That wish is the one your friend, Eevee, made. Why don't we bring it down and see what her exact words were."

"You can do that!?"

"Hehe, of course! Here, watch..." Jirachi held her arms up, and a blue aura formed around her hands. Suddenly, the green star began to fall towards us. It became brighter and brighter. Once it was really close, it was so bright I couldn't see. I covered my eyes. "Don't worry, hang on a second..." The light died down, and I saw Jirachi holding the star in her hands. It looked more like a glowing green ball.

"So how-?"

"Sh! Listen closely... You can hear Eevee's voice..." I put my head closer to the star. It was very faint, but I could hear it.

_"I wish Snivy could live again!"_ There was a pause. And then I heard Eevee's voice repeat the wish again. It was heartwarming to hear Eevee wish for my life back...

"How did you know the Snivy she was referring to was me?"

"Because before this wish, she made a few others saying she wished for her _friend, Snivy,_ to come back to life. I've been watching, I know which _friend_ she was referring to. But, once she made this wish, I tossed those other ones away. The _thing_ about the Wish Stones is that it's not enough to simply hold the stone and say the wish. You have to put your _heart_ into it. Otherwise, the stone just ignores your wish, altogether."

"So Eevee... She went so far as to get a Wish Stone... Just for _my_ sake?" I felt tear's of joy form in my eyes. Jirachi gave me a playful smile.

"You two really are sweet Pokémon, hehe..."

"Hm... Thanks..." It was nice to know that I had another friendship growing with another Legendary Pokémon. Jirachi acted very childish, but knew how to stay serious during important business. It's nice to be friends with a very playful Pokémon. Although, I still had questions to ask her.

"Hey, Jirachi?"

"What's up?"

"Will I ever get another chance to talk with you?"

"Hm... I might pop in during one of your psychic chats with Zekrom... Of course, if I need to see _you _for something specific, then I'll get you myself. Why do you ask?"

"I was just wondering, is it alright if I ask you a few things before you send me back?"

"Of course! Go right ahead!" She was extremely nice about this...

"Hm... How come unlike Zekrom, you don't need to limit you aura, or presence, or... whatever it is that he has, around other Pokémon?" I remember that when Zekrom talked to me, his voice was so loud, it caused my head to feel like it was splitting apart. But Jirachi's voice didn't have any harm on me from the start... She poked my chest.

"That's because Zekrom controls lightning. You know... a natural force that has the capacity to destroy everything on the planet! All I worry about are wishes. There is no force behind a wish. It's just someone's willpower and thought. However, if you heard all these wishes at once, like I do, _all the time_, then your psych wouldn't be able to handle it. Your brain would turn into jelly like _that!_" She snapped her fingers.

"That's a... scary thought..." I gulped. The thought of hearing millions of other voices in my head... it made me sick... "A-Anyway... um... Another question, Zekrom wasn't able to cure my curse, because he said he wasn't allowed to use any healing power to cure it. But how come _you_ can bring me back to life?" Jirachi flicked my nose a third time. I was starting to get annoyed by that...

"Well, Snivy, remember that, One: Zekrom said he couldn't use any _healing power_ to cure you. However, no one ever said anything about not being able to _wish_ for your life back. And two: I'm not the one who gives Pokémon their life back; that would be the Legendary Pokémon, Cresselia. I'm the one who _grants wishes. _

"Oh... Well, then why isn't-?"

"Oh! Right, right! I completely forgot! You see," Jirachi let out a deep breath, "Cresselia isn't able to bring you back to life at the moment, because she was off taking care of some personal problems. Something about Darkrai?... Anyway, so, I had to take over for her."

"So, you're going to revive me?"

"Okay, this is where things get complicated... Even though your friend Eevee wished for you to come back to life, I'm, once again, only the Pokémon that can _grant wishes._ Eevee's wish called for Cresselia to revive you. But, Cresselia isn't here; I am. So, I can't bring you directly back to life. However, I can offer you a wish, so that _you_ can bring _yourself_ back to life with a wish."

Oh, wow! I get my own wish? Sweet!

"Alright then! I wish-"

"WAIT!" Jirachi placed her hand over my mouth. "Slow down, pal. I'm not done, yet." She took her hand off my mouth. "You see, as the one who grants wishes, it is also part of my job to remind you that you don't _have _to wish for your life back." … Wait, what? I gave Jirachi a confused look. "Remember, it's a _wish._ You can wish for whatever you want. Money. Power. Life. Death. Of course, if it's greedy and selfish, then I'm going to deny it."

So... I can wish for whatever I want!? I could become stronger... I could get faster... I could get rich... I felt an evil grin grow on my face. But Jirachi pounded her fist onto my forehead. It didn't hurt, but it wasn't exactly pleasant, either.

"Look, I just explained it to you, and you already forgot what I said! Your wish can't be _selfish, and greedy!_" I felt really stupid. I guess I wasn't use to the idea of being able to, basically, _ask for whatever I wanted._ "Now, because I'm such a _nice_ Pokémon, I'm going to also remind you to look at where you are. This is the Fountain of Wishes. This area is an infinite void. _There is no exit. _The only way you can get in and out of this place, is through me. You may be alive right now, but you're only alive, _here._ Your body and mind are still back in the real world. You need to wish for your life back if you want me to bring you back there. Otherwise, you'll be-"

"Okay, okay! I got it! Jeez..." I cut Jirachi off, for once. She gave me a troubled look.

"I wasn't expecting you to perk up, all of a sudden..."

"So, to put it simply, if I make the wrong wish, I'm screwed, right?"

"Uh, well... yeah, pretty much..."

I took a moment to think it over. I could, and I most definitely should, wish for my life back... But, I _don't _have to. I could also wish for... Peace. No more fighting. More trust between the Pokémon. I could wish for everyone at Paradise to be successful at getting rid of the Bittercold- Or, hell, I could wish for the Bittercold to be gone, _completely_. Then, there would be nothing to worry about. This whole mess would've never happen. Everyone would be happy. There would be no more mistrust and mischief. However... then I wouldn't be able to see Eevee... I remember holding her in my arms. She felt so warm. I didn't want to let go of her... She was so kind to me, and even took care of me when I harmed her. I never felt so much care from another Pokémon... _I wanted to see Eevee again._ If I wish to stop the Bittercold, then I'd never see her again. But, if I don't wish to stop it, then we'll have to stop it ourselves. Do I save the world, and let Eevee try to live a peaceful life, _alone_? Or do I wish for my life, and live with her in a corrupted world? Ugh, dammit! Why do I have to be given this decision? I... I just want to live in peace... with Eevee... I felt tears form under my eyes. I sat down, and cover my eyes with my hands. The tears began to stream down my face. But, I felt Jirachi put her hand on my shoulder. I looked up, and she gave me a look of reassurance.

"Hey... I think I know what you're wondering..." Jirachi looked up at the other wishes. "I don't think anyone would blame you; it's a difficult choice. Your love, or the world..." She took her hand off me, and walked towards the center of the fountain. "You know, Snivy... for someone who had the power of the Legends... You didn't exactly live very long to get a chance to use it for the greater good..."

"W-Wha-?" What is she talking about?

"Hehe... The answer should be obvious..." She turned around and faced me. "Remember that _you_ are the one with that special power. _You_ have abilities that no one else has... _You_ have the potential to save the planet... You could wish for peace. But you could also wish to live, because _you_ can save the world. I know the wish for peace is an easier choice... But a wish for your life, so you can be with Eevee, would be the _happier_ choice. I mean, once again though, it's _your_ wish. So, wish for what _you_ want...

What I want?... I stared down at my hands...

Do I know what I want?

…

Yes...

Yes! I know what I want!

"Jirachi..." I stood up and turned towards her. "I _do _know what I want! _I want to be with Eevee!_" I clenched my hands into fists...

_"I wish to be brought back to life!" _

Suddenly, it felt like something heavy that was holding me down got up and left. Jirachi gave me a happy smile.

"Well then, Snivy, your wish is my command." Then she whispered, "Personally, I'm happy you made that wish." She winked at me. "Come over here, and stand in the center of the fountain." She took a few steps back, and I walked over. I placed my feet into the water again. The water was cool. The kind of cool you'd want to feel after sitting outside on a hot summer day. I stepped into the center.

"Hey Jirachi... Before you send me back, I just want to say... Thank you." I extended my hand out to her, "It was nice to have you help me make my wish." Jirachi looked down at my hand, and then laughed.

"Hahaha, Snivy... your so weird. But I guess that's why I like you a lot!" She winked at me again, and shook my hand.

"It was nice to get to know another Legendary Pokémon."

"And it was nice to follow your story." We both exchanged smiles, and then she stepped back. "Oh, and don't worry about Zekrom. I'll let him know that you're alive again."

"Hm, thanks." I nodded my head. Jirachi closed her eyes, and held her arms out. The same blue aura formed around her hands again. I looked down and noticed that the water was glowing, even though there were no lights. Suddenly, I saw my body glow, and I began to float upwards. It was similar to when I was waking up from when I was in the sword with Zekrom. As I continued upwards, I felt more energy return to me. My strength was being brought back. I looked up and saw a white light. This is it. I'm coming back... _I'm coming back to life!_ I was getting excited thinking about seeing all the Pokémon again. And I'd get to see Eevee, too...

Don't worry Eevee. You're wish wasn't wasted.

_I'm coming back!_

* * *

**Fun Fact: The whole dialogue in this chapter about Jirachi's gender, wasn't something I had planned to put in. However, I got extremely frustrated referring to Jirachi as "it", that it _really_ was driving me insane. I know that Jirachi is a Legendary, and therefore, is genderless. So you're _suppose_ to call Jirachi an "it". But I really could not work with that. So, for the sake of my sanity, I gave Jirachi a gender, and due to the fact that there aren't many female characters in this story, I made Jirachi a girl.  
Just thought I'd share that with you, hehe...**


	15. A New Day

**The final chapter... Oh, and it's the longest chapter... longer than chapter 13... So, enjoy!**

* * *

Despair and Depression. Two forces that clogged my mine for so long. And to think, in just a couple of days, they were gone. I traveled the world, and stayed away from everyone. The only way to avoid problems, was to avoid others. Avoiding Pokémon would spare me from trouble. However, I always found myself helping everyone who asked for assistance. I couldn't stand to see anyone face their problems alone, regardless of who they were. But, almost all the time, I was always tricked. Pick-pocketed, beaten, even simply giving me wrong directions were just a few of the many betrayals against me. So when I saved Eevee, and she offered me a place to stay, I didn't believe her. I couldn't. She was being nice, and I saw most other Pokémon as mischievous and untrustworthy... But... if I didn't save her... then there would be so many things that I would've never discovered about myself. The sword, Zekrom's powers, and my father's past... Those few things changed me from being anti-social... to wanting to be a hero to everyone. And with joining Eevee's team, I now know that I'm not the only one trying to do good.

I'm here right now because Eevee gave me a chance to live again... She _wished_ for my life back. And I'm not letting her wish go to waste!

"Uh... Sn-... Snivy?" I heard a voice. I quickly opened my eyes and saw Mienfoo and Oshawott standing over my body. I was lying on the grass, somewhere in Paradise, I think. The sky was a sunset, with a few faint clouds. I looked at my hands. My whole body was here; I am alive again. But, my cloak, satchel, and sword were missing. I quickly stood up, and grabbed Mienfoo by his shoulders.

"Quick! How long have I been gone!?" He hesitated at my abrupt question.

"It... uh... um... it's been... three days?" he looked at Oshawott, "It's been three days, right?" Oshawott nodded yes. I've been gone for three days? I wonder what's happened... Ugh, no! I don't have time to think. I need to get my sword and find Eevee.

"Do you know where my sword is!?" I realized that I was shouting at Mienfoo, right in his face.

"Snivy, relax." Mienfoo put his hands on my arms and took my hands off him. "It's right there." He pointed behind me. I turned around, and saw my sword floating on some kind of altar. "Your body formed from some light that came out of your sword. How did you even get back here, anyway?" I ignored his question, and stared at the sword. There was a faint, black aura around it. I expected Eevee to display it in some generic glass case... but this looked way cooler! I assume the aura is probably some kind of lock...

"How do I get my sword out of this?" I asked, while reaching for the sword.

"Wait, Snivy! Don't-" Oshawott tried to warn me, but he was too late. The moment my finger hovered over the sword's handle, a black, psychic beam branched off the sword and zapped me in the face. A wave of pain shocked me. I fell backwards, with my hands covering my nose. I should have expected something like that. But, I will admit, I'm glad to know Eevee got a really interesting lock on my sword. But, how do I get it out?

"Sorry about that. But you're not the first. Chimchar's curiosity got the better of him, and he tried too... He wasn't able to handle the pain as well as you did, though..." I stood back up.

"How do I get my sword out of that?" I asked Oshawott.

"You'll have to go and get Cofagrigus from Post Town to unlock your sword." I didn't know who Cofagrigus was, and I wasn't sure how far away Post Town was (obviously, it must not be that far if someone could get here and back to build this thing), all I knew was that I needed my sword _now_.

"Damn... I don't have time to do that." The two of them gave me worried looks.

"Sorry, but there really isn't anything we can do, unless we get Cofagrigus..." Oshawott replied. I stared at my sword for a few seconds, and then closed my eyes. This sword... it wasn't just a weapon... a tool meant to bring death. I remember thinking my sword was the key to my problems... no, it wasn't that. It was the key to my _life_. I know Pokémon are suppose to fight with their moves and abilities, but to me, my sword is a part of me that I can't let go. _It's essential to me_.

I could feel a close connection between me and the sword. I heard Oshawott gasp. Opening my eyes revealed my body covered in a blue aura. I looked up at the sword, and it was in the aura, too, along with the black aura. I slowly reached my hand towards the sword again. This time, my hand easily slipped through, and I pulled it off the altar. The aura dissipated from me and the sword. I unsheathed the sword, and looked at the blade. The insignia was still on it, reminding me of my bond with Zekrom and the other Legends. I swung the blade a few times to get a feeling for it again. It sliced through the air, like a bird gliding in the wind. Oh yeah... I missed this blade. I sheathed it, and wrapped it around my back, with a satisfactory smile. I looked over at Oshawott and Mienfoo. They were stunned that I had just pulled the sword out of the altar with no problem.

"Snivy... Only the strength of a Legend could pull that out..." Oshawott was speechless... Or actually, Mienfoo was more so. He hasn't said anything at all this whole time, but he was just as surprised.

"Heh... Alright then. See ya'!" I had to go find Eevee. I waved bye to them, and headed towards the Normal-type dojo at the top of Paradise... where Eevee and I spent my last few moments. I figured she might be there...

"Wait, Snivy!" Oshawott called out to me, but I ignored him again. I ran by all the other buildings, fields, and facilities in Paradise. I've only been gone for three days.. but it feels like I'm back home after a long trip. It felt good to be alive again. Although it was sunset, the sun's remaining light brought me a comfortable warmth feeling. I absorbed it into my body, and I felt much stronger than I did before I died (excluding the fact that I went through two fights)...

I reached the set of steps that lead up the mountain to the dojo. I began hopping up the steps, using leaps with my minor psychic powers. I got closer, and closer to the top... I finally placed my foot on the last step. Breathing heavily, I slowly stepped up.

"Eevee!" I called out her name... but, she wasn't there... I felt really stupid. Coming all the way here was a waste of time. I slapped myself in the face, in frustration.

"Ugh, you idiot! What made you think she was here?" I ranted at myself and sighed in annoyance. I took my hand off my face, and noticed the sunset on the horizon. I turned towards it, and stared into the distance. The clash of orange, red, and yellow brought a comforting feeling. But the more I stared at it, the more I realized it's almost dark, and I don't know where Eevee is... I heard Oshawott and Mienfoo run up behind me. Oshawott was panting, but Mienfoo seemed fine. Mienfoo walked up to me.

"You're looking for Eevee, right? You know, you could have just asked us where she is..."

… I slapped myself in the face again.

"So then, where is she?"

"Well... Honestly, we're not exactly sure where she is..."

"Then... what are you-"

"Hold on, you didn't let me finish... We don't know where she is because she told us a weird location. She said she was going to the place, _'where the fox and snake first met'_. We wanted to go with her, but she specifically told us not to follow her..."

The place "where the fox and snake first met"? Hm... Wait. _Fox... Snake..._ They couldn't figure that out?

"I know exactly where she is!"

"Really? Where!?" Oshawott jumped in the conversation. But, I hesitated at his question. I didn't really want to tell them because I wanted to meet with Eevee, alone. I know it's selfish, but I just really want to see her again, without any disruptions.

"I'm sorry, but I don't think I should tell you... at least, not now. Because of that location, I know why she said not to follow her. So it's important that only I go find Eevee." They both gave me looks of distraught. But then Mienfoo spoke.

"I guess if Snivy is the only one who could figure out where she is, then maybe he should be the only one to go after her..." Oshawott was about to protest... but instead, he said, "Hmph. No point in arguing. Plus, it's getting dark out. You better find her fast."

"Right." I turned away from them, and faced the steps leading downwards.

"Oh, wait! Snivy!" Oshawott called again to me, for the third time. I faced him. "Catch!" He tossed me my satchel. Good, I actually might need this. "We've been keeping your bag in our base. I thought you might want it back. There's a small gift in there from us, too." I opened the satchel. There were three Oran berries, two Pecha berries, a petrify orb, and a Reviver seed. "Think of it as an apology gift from us. You know... when we practically killed you..." Oshawott gave me a weak smile and rubbed the back of his head.

"Heh..." I turned around so my back faced him, "Why are you sorry? I'm the one who acted like a douche to you guys. I'm the fool who needs to be apologizing." Mienfoo spoke.

"Yes, but, you're the one who is going to help us fight the Bittercold. We'd prefer it if you were alive, happy, and one of our friends, instead of an enemy holding a grudge against us..." I turned towards them. They both gave me a smile of friendship. I turned away again, smirking.

"Hm... Thank you..." I ran off towards where I knew Eevee was. "The place where the fox and snake first met." It was so obvious... _it was where I saved Eevee in the tree..._

* * *

My feet rapidly tapped the ground as I sprinted towards the tree. I just past the entrance to Paradise. Why would Eevee be at the tree? What was there that made her have to go alone? The more I thought about it, the more worried I became. Something could have happened to Eevee. I'm not creative enough to think of what could happen, but regardless, something _bad_ could definitely happen to her...

I was exhausted from all the running I did, but I finally made it to the tree. The thick entanglement of branches and leaves created a giant utopia inside the enormous tree, that hung over the edge of this cliff. The thought of going in there a second time was daunting... but I had to find Eevee. I leaped up to the first branch. It wobbled when I landed on it. That reminds me, these branches can snap off... Eevee could have been on one... An image of Eevee falling down the cliff flashed in my mind. But I quickly shook my head and got rid of it. Eevee's the leader of this team. She's smart and strong enough to not let that happen to her... right? Despite trying to reassure myself, I began to panic a little. I hopped further into the tree, and began to search for Eevee...

I first checked around the branch that Eevee stood on as it was snapping off. I found the half of that branch jutting out of the base of this tree. But, no sign of Eevee. I looked around and I didn't see any other broken branches. So, I know she didn't fall off another one... Alright now to check... uh... wait. Where should I check now? I can't really think of any other _specific_ place in this tree where she would be... I glanced around the other branches, and then I looked up. The top of the tree looked like it was miles away. Of course, it wasn't really _miles_ away, but it did look like it... Could Eevee be up there? … I let out an annoyed sigh.

"It's the only other place I can think to look..." I said to myself. I began jumping, and climbing my way to the top of the tree. As I got closer to the top, the branches seemed to close in around me. My satchel kept getting caught on them, and I scraped my arms and legs on the branches a few times, too. Kind of a stupid decision to climb all the way up here... I think an hour passed by before I had actually made it near the top. I had scratches on me, but nothing serious. I was enshrouded by leaves and branches, so I couldn't see outside. I tried moving them away, but there was a lot of force on them, and they snapped back. I got irritated, and tried moving them again.

"Ugh! Come on... you bi-" but the branches snapped back again. This time, they whipped me right in the face. The force caused me to fall down into the base of the tree, slamming against each of the branches I had climbed all the way up on. After each wave of pain slammed at my body, I finally landed on one branch where I didn't fall. I lied on it, grunting at the pain. This definitely wasn't what I was planning... I put my hand on my forehead, where the branch, at the top of the tree, stroke me. It stung badly. I pulled my hand away, and saw blood on my fingers. And just when I thought it couldn't get worse, I began to feel dizzy. Guess all that falling, after a whack in the face, wasn't a very good combination... Welp, I wanted to save my Oran berries, but before I make another mistake, maybe I should heal. I slowly sat up, reached in my satchel, and pulled out one of the berries. I sunk my teeth into it and took my first bite. It had a bittersweet taste, but I didn't enjoy it. I almost didn't want to eat anymore. But Oran berries heal all wounds quickly, so I forced myself to eat the rest of the berry. After swallowing the last bit of it, I put my hand on my forehead again. The gash didn't sting as much, and I wasn't bleeding anymore. I stood up, and noticed I wasn't dizzy, either. Phew... I need to be more careful. I just came back to life. Let's try not to be eager about dying so quickly...

I didn't know where else Eevee could be, so I decided to head back to Paradise. As I was about to start hopping down, I noticed a small shiny object flash in my eye for a second. I hopped over to edge of the branch I was on, and picked up the object. My eyes widened...

"Wow..." It was beautiful. The object was a pendant, with a piece of gold and a sapphire encrusted into it. The string that held it together was a sky blue color. The magnificence of this gem prolonged my interest into it... Where did it come from? Who did it belong to? Why is it in this tree? Those questions fogged my mind... As I was examining it, a small ray of light that pierced through the tree shone off the pendant, and flashed in my eye. I then realized that I have no idea how dark it is outside... I quickly placed the pendant into my satchel, and continued to hop out of the tree. Eevee... Where are you? …

When I got outside, the sky was almost at nighttime. It shone a light-blue/dark-blue gradient. Now I really don't have much time to look for Eevee. I sprinted back to Paradise. Where the hell else could she be? This is _"where the Fox and Snake first met"_. Why isn't she here? Hm... As I continued along the path to Paradise, I heard a pair of voices nearby. One of them sounded like they were in trouble so I immediately stopped to listen. They were coming from behind a group of bushes to my right. I walked over, and peaked through. I saw a big, white-furred Pokémon with his back turned towards me. He was standing on two legs, had claws, and his left ear was red-furred. His voice was deep, and menacing. It made me shiver, but I wasn't scared. I couldn't see the other Pokémon he was talking to, but it sounded like a girl. She definitely sounded scared, too... In fact, that voice... it sounded like-

"Where is it!?" My thoughts interrupted by the bigger Pokémon's voice. I better listen...

"I told you: I don't know!" The other Pokémon was acting tough, but I sensed fear in her voice.

"Hmph, I know you're lying!" The big Pokémon swung his right hand claws at the other Pokémon. I couldn't see what was going on, but I believe the big Pokémon missed the other one, and tried counter-attacking. However, the big Pokémon put up his left hand, grabbed the other Pokémon, and swung her at the base to a tree to the left. Finally, I saw who the two Pokémon were. The girl was... Eevee! But just what the hell is going on? And this big Pokémon was a Zangoose... Definitely a fearsome opponent... Zangoose walked over to Eevee, as she struggled to stand back up.

"Now, if you want to keep your life, you'll tell me right now where it's hidden..."

"Ah... my leg..." Eevee was having trouble trying to stand on one of her back legs. It probably broke or sprained when she slammed into the tree. "I- I don't know where it is..." She was still trying to fight against Zangoose.

"Hmph..." Zangoose held up his right hand, "So you still continue to lie, even though you know you can easily avoid death right now... Fine then. I hope your life was worth it!" He raised his right hand above his head, preparing to strike at Eevee with his claws. I realized this was where I needed to come in, or else Eevee was going to die. I leaped through the bushes and landed in front of Eevee. I pulled out my sword, and blocked Zangoose's claws. There was a loud _clang_ noise that echoed through the forest. When Zangoose finally noticed that I blocked his attacked, he hesitated.

"What!?" I shoved his claws back off my sword, and swung at him. But Zangoose was quick. He jumped back, avoiding my attack.

"What the-?... Who are you!?" He demanded an answer from me. I continued to stare daggers at him.

"Heh... All you need to know, is that because of this Pokémon," I motioned to Eevee behind me, "I was able to cheat death. And with this second life, I plan to end the fear caused by all of you assholes..." I held my sword up, and got into a battle-stance. I thought now would seem like a good time to gather strength from the Legend's. I wasn't sure how strong Zangoose was, but he was definitely quick, so I should prepare for the worse. I chanted for their power. _"O' power of the greater forces above... grant me a vanquishing light."_ My sword and my body became enveloped in the blue aura again. I could feel power surging through me. I guess it was easier to call for their strength, than I thought. Zangoose's eyes widened, but he kept a stern posture.

"Hm... well then..." he smirked, but then turned around so his back faced me, "It appears I've met quite a strong foe... I guess I'll retreat for now. But just so you know..." he turned his head over and looked at me, "You don't scare me. I'm simply running because you look like an opponent that I can't win against. But I do assure you, next time we meet, I _will _kill you for getting in my way..." And with that, Zangoose jumped into the forest, fading from our sight. I got out of my battle-stance.

"Hmph, coward..." I said to myself. The aura left me, and I sheathed my sword. I turned around towards Eevee. Honestly, I almost forgot she was there. She was lying on her back, staring at me, with the most stunned expression on her face. Oh yeah, she didn't know I was alive. I rubbed the back of my head.

"It's good to see you again, Eevee," I held my hand out to her, to help her get back up, "Are you alright?" She stared at me for a little longer, and then I saw tears form under her eyes.

"Snivy!" Despite the fact she couldn't move her leg, she jumped on me, and wrapped her arms around. I hugged her back. Ever since I came back to life, this is all I wanted to do: just hold Eevee in my arms again. Her fur brushed against my body, and I felt a comforting warmth from her. She placed her lips on mine and gave me a kiss. It didn't last as long as our first one, but it was nice to feel it again. Eevee looked into my eyes.

"Snivy... How did you-? Where did you-?..." She was so excited to see me again, she couldn't finish asking her questions. But, I think I knew what she was asking.

"It was your _wish_..." Eevee gasped when I said this. "Your wish with the Wish Stone... It brought me back to life..." She stared at me in awe. Did she not think it was going to work? "Despite the 'hiccup' there was, I still made it back!" I gave her a smile.

"Wait... what do you mean by 'hiccup'?" Eevee asked.

"Don't worry, I'll explain later. Look," I pointed at the sky. It was almost completely dark-blue, "We need to get back to Paradise before night comes. I don't want to be attacked out here at night..."

"Right." Eevee agreed. However, I began to notice that Eevee was leaning heavily against me. She couldn't stand on one of her hind legs.

"Wait, can you walk?"

"I'm... not sure. I think I sprained it when I slammed into the tree that Zangoose threw me at..." She looked down with a sad look. She was probably disappointed at the fact that she was too weak to fight him alone. "How am I going to get back?"

"Don't worry, I'll carry you!" I was completely open to doing so. I turned around and knelt down. Eevee hopped on my back and I wrapped my arms around her hind legs. Once again, she wasn't too heavy. I could carry her just fine. Of course, I can't move fast while carrying her.

"Are you okay with this, Snivy?"

"It's fine. Getting you back to Paradise is what's important right now. So just relax."

I walked back onto the dirt path, and headed towards Paradise again. This time with Eevee...

It really did feel good to be alive again. All the experience I gained in just two days... has greatly changed who I am. Now, I can start working towards what I had originally set out to do: purging this world of it's despair, by stopping the Bittercold...

* * *

The sky turned to night before we made it back to Paradise. Along the way back to Paradise, Eevee explained to me what happened while I was gone; the lock on my sword, and the Wish Stone she got. I can't believe she risked all that money to bring my life back... But, it worked, and that's all that mattered. Eventually, we made it back to Paradise. Luckily, we weren't attacked, and made it there without any other problems. All the Pokémon in Paradise were there to greet us. They must have been worrying. Eevee's leg felt better, and she got off me. She explained to everyone what happened; how she went back into the tree, got attacked by Zangoose as she was leaving, and how I saved her, again. Everyone cheered at the last part. Then, Oshawott ran up to us.

"Hey, why don't we go to Post Town and have a party to celebrate Snivy's return?" A party for me? Because I came back to life? Seemed like a weird thing to do. But Eevee turned to me.

"What do you think, Snivy? I'd definitely love to hear about what happened while you were gone..."

Hm... Eevee doesn't mind it. But I still thought it was a weird time to do such a thing. Still, I guess I wouldn't mind taking a break.

"Sure, that's fine. I could use this chance to get used to being alive again..." Everyone was happy with my answer, and we all headed to Post Town. Honestly, I thought we would be attacked along the way, but I guess a large group of Pokémon like us seemed pretty risky to attack. We entered Post Town, and while everyone was setting up, Eevee, Oshawott, and Mienfoo showed me around Post Town. Eventually, Chimchar joined us, too. They showed me all the buildings and shops in Post Town. But the only one that really stuck out was Swanna's Cafe. Obviously, a Swanna ran the place. She seemed friendly, and was willing to offer free food to everyone in honor of my return. It was extremely nice of her, considering this is the first time we met... When we walked back out, everyone finished setting things up. There was a large bonfire in the center of this plaza. Everyone began to socialize, and make merry. I didn't know where it was coming from, but there was music, too. I guess they really wanted to throw a huge party for me...

While this party was going underway, I mainly sat off to the side and just simply snacked on berries. I wasn't really into partying that much... Eevee stayed by my side most of the time. We didn't really say much to each other, but after a while, I saw her close her eyes and smile.

"What are you so happy about?" She remained silent for a moment.

"I'm just... When I look at everyone enjoying themselves like this... I realize how much I accomplished as leader of my rescue team. I'm glad to know there are times where I can see other Pokémon smile. Normally, they're all sitting in fear of what Pokémon will attack them next. I'm glad to see everyone happy, for once..." Then Eevee moved closer to me, "I'm also glad that you're back, too, Snivy..." I felt my face blush. But then one of the other Pokémon from Paradise, an Emolga, came up to me and asked me a question.

"Hey, um... Excuse me Snivy..." He was really shaking a lot, as if I was going to randomly attack him or something.

"Heh, I can see you're nervous. Just relax, I'm not going to hurt you." I gave Emolga a friendly smile. He took a deep breath, and then tried again. He cleared his throat.

"Snivy... could you tell us about what happened to you? I mean... What was death like? And how did you come back to life?"

"Oh yeah, I probably should explain that to everyone... Hold on a second, I'll tell everyone what happened..." I saw a few crates stacked next to Kecleon's store. I sat on top of them, and called out for everyone's attention. Then, I explained everything that happened after my death. It was hard explaining what death _felt_ like, but I basically said, you become trapped in silence. But of course, I didn't feel it that long, because then Jirachi brought me to life. Everyone was stunned that I got to meet another Legendary Pokémon. I explained how Jirachi didn't bring me to life, but gave me another wish... And I could have used that wish to end the Bittercold, right then and there, but I didn't. Everyone gave me a blank expression. If I had to guess, I'd say they were probably confused as to whether or not to hate me for wishing for my life, instead of stopping the Bittercold. Of course, I reassured them, saying that I still have the sword with the Legends' powers, and I _can_ stop the Bittercold myself. I remember ending my story saying, "If you hate me for the decision I've made, then I don't blame you. I'd probably be pretty pissed myself. For those who are okay with me being alive again: thank you. And for those who despise me for my selfish wish for life: I'm sorry. However, I promise to dedicate my second life to stopping the Bittercold." They all stared at me again. But this time, some of them gave me a smile. In fact, another Pokémon in audience, a Timburr, shouted, "Hey, I don't blame you! Who wouldn't wish for their life back?" A few Pokémon around him began to agree. The voices of everyone grew louder as they discussed whether or not I had made the right decision. Honestly, I began to panic. What if they were angry that I didn't stop the Bittercold right then and there? What if they see me as selfish, and thoughtless, like all the other corrupted Pokémon in the world? I broke into a sweat. Suddenly, it sounded like they were going into a heated debate about my choice. I had to stop the chatter, because I felt like they would start throwing fists at each other. I stupidly asked out to all of them, "Are you angry at me for the decision I made?" Everyone quieted down, stared at me, and I began to sweat even more. They hated me... I knew they hated me for my action... However, the majority of them smiled at me. They said, "Welcome back, Snivy!" And then they cheered me on, saying encouraging things, like, "Hey, we'll help you stop the Bittercold!", "We'll support you one-hundred percent of the way!" and, "With a power like yours, we need you alive again!" I was shocked... I never knew what it felt like to have so many people depend on me for something. I know it's a _big_ responsibility that they need me for, but still... it was like I had found a second family. "Everyone... Thank you! I promise, I won't let you all down. _We will stop the Bittercold!_" They all cheered, again, at my last words. Then they all went back to just enjoying this party.

All the Pokémon stayed pretty lively. Some of them came over and asked me a few more questions. Most of them were asking me to demonstrate my power. I told them all to gather around, because I was only going to do this once. I didn't want to abuse my power. Kecleon pulled out an empty iron safe, that I could use to demonstrate. Apparently, he said only the toughest Pokémon, about as strong as the Legend's, could cut through this safe. I pulled out my sword, and chanted, again, _"O' power of the greater forces above... grant me a vanquishing light."_ The blue aura radiated off my body and sword. I could feel strength and power surge through my body, again. I gripped my sword with both hands, and slashed at the crate. A clean cut formed right down the center, breaking the safe into two halves. The Pokémon were amazed, and most of them didn't doubt me anymore. I was glad I could prove that I _can_ stop the Bittercold...

As I was getting to know the other Pokémon, I suddenly noticed that Eevee was missing. Where did she go? I slowly broke away from the party, and searched Post Town for her. It wasn't a big town, so I wasn't afraid of getting lost. After searching for a few minutes, I remembered about the hill above the town. Before the party began, Eevee and the other three showed me the top hill on Post Town. It had a magnificent view. I wondered... did Eevee go there? I went up the steps that were at the edge of town.

It was quiet up here. I enjoyed getting away from the noise for a moment. I noticed Eevee was laying on the grass, staring up at the stars. I walked over to her.

"Hey..." She looked over at me, "Mind if I join you?" She nodded yes. I lied down next to her on the soft grass. We both stared up at the stars. Seeing all the tiny specks of light... they reminded me of all the wishes that were in the sky, at the Fountain of Wishes. I wondered if any of them were mixed in up there, too...

I know I said it before... but I truly am grateful to have met Eevee. Without her, I wouldn't be here right now. And there would be so much about my life that I would have never known about. I wish I could thank her somehow... Hey, wait... that pendant I found earlier! Maybe she might like it...

I reached in my satchel, and pulled out the pendant. It was hard to see it since it was dark out. I held it up in front of Eevee, anyway.

"Here, Eevee, I want to thank you... for everything you've done for me..." She took the pendant from my hand.

"Hm... I'm sorry Snivy, I can't see it because it's so dark out. What is it?"

"It's a pendant I found-"

"Wait... did you say a _pendant_?" She excitedly sat up at my answer.

"Yes..." I asked confused. I sat up, too.

"Tell me... is there a blue sapphire in this pendant?"

"Yeah, I saw that when I picked it up."

"And where did you find this!?" She was really freaking out now. What's with her and this pendant?

"I... found it in the tree at the split in the path to Post Town and Paradise..." Eevee's eyes widened with shock when I said this. Suddenly, she jumped on top of me, and wrapped her arms around. She buried her face into my shoulder, and I could feel watery tears form in her eyes.

"Snivy... this is my mother's pendant!" Now I was shocked.

"Really?"

"Yes... A few days before you showed up, I was in that tree, watching the sunset. I took off the pendant to stare at it, but I accidentally dropped it. I spent the next few days searching for it in that tree, because I couldn't lose it... I couldn't..." She paused for a moment. So... that's why she was in that tree to begin with... Huh... "I had to get this pendant back because my mother gave it to me. It's the only keepsake I have left to remind me of her." Oh wow. Now I was really glad I found that pendant. I made Eevee ten times more happy. And seeing her smile, made me smile, too. "However..." Eevee lowered her voice to a whisper, "My mother also told me that the pendant had... _special_ powers. And I can't let it fall into the wrong hands..." she brought her voice back up, "She didn't tell me what the pendant's special power was. All I knew, was that I couldn't lose it. Remember that Zangoose? He was asking me where the pendant was... I knew it was in the tree, I just didn't know where..."

Wow... So from day one, the entire time Eevee acted nice, kind, and kept up with leading her team, deep in the back of her mind, she was worrying crazily about the pendant...  
She had a strong heart. To go through all of this, was truly a test of willpower. And that was what made her a strong Pokémon...

"Eevee... You really are a much stronger Pokémon than I thought. You're a great leader, and I'm glad to be a part of your team..." I wanted to say more about her, but that was all I could manage at the moment. However, I felt her hug me tighter.

"Snivy... Thank you... Thank you so very much..." Eevee had tears of joy in her eyes. We held each other close, in our arms. Seeing a smile on her face this time gave me the most satisfying feeling of accomplishment I ever felt. I was truly glad to be with Eevee...

I guess, this is where my _fate_ has brought me. The wheel of _fate_ has begun to turn again. I didn't think it would turn out like this. I've learned more about myself in these last two days, than I did in the last few years of my life. I met a Pokémon that I've come to love, I joined a team dedicated to reshaping the Pokémon world, and I learned about my destiny with the Legenday Pokémon. Things are probably going to become more hectic in the coming days... but I'm willing to go through it. I am willing to risk my life for the future of the Pokémon world. As long as I'm with Eevee, and I have the support of everyone else, here, at Paradise, I know I can save this planet...

I- no... _we_ will save this planet from it's destructive fate...

**The End.**

* * *

**Now, you're first question probably is, "Will there be a sequel?" And, honestly, I wouldn't count on it... I know there are lots of details in there to make room for the sequel, but I just can't start a sequel... I'm afraid that I'm going to reach a point where, if I do start it, I'm going to lose interest, and never finish it. I'd hate to have you guys read something, and then never see the ending... One of my favorite stories on here suffered from that, and I don't want to repeat it... This DOES NOT mean that there isn't a chance for a sequel to happen. Rather, the way things are looking now, I just wouldn't count on it... I'm sorry...**

**And you're next question is probably, "Are you going to write anything else?" Unfortunately, I'm going to have to say "no" to that, too. With the end of my Summer vacation coming up soon, I don't think I'll have enough time to work on anything else. Heck, it took me this long to put out the final chapter to this story; I would really hate to start something else...**

**Welp, I hope those are the only major questions you have. And with that, I want to end on a happy note! I don't know if you've gone to my profile, but as of July 23, 2013, this story reached over 1000 views (and counting)! I really want to thank you all for reading this story! That really does mean a lot to me! It was fun writing this story, and I hope that whoever reads this in the future will enjoy this story, too. Once again, thank you all so much! I didn't think I'd ever get this much done! You guys are awesome! **

**Farewell... until our _fates _cross paths in the future...**


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